Sunset Weddings

A few weeks back, I photographed the Ennis Montana wedding of Riki and Lee overlooking the Madison Mountain range.

Getting to know these two over the past year leading up to their Ennis Montana Wedding day has been wonderful. Right from the start, the shared, rich intellect and loving kindness of Riki and Lee were an apparent, magnetic force.

Lee and Riki met four years ago while pursuing their PhDs at Northwestern University. They are now both budding powerhouse chemists on the East Coast.

In our first conversations, Lee shared what they admire most about Riki. They love how Riki is so good at genuinely seeing people. Riki is kind and doesn’t hesitate to help others. “Whether it be her colleagues, students, friends, or our community of loved ones, Riki shows me how to be a better partner,” Lee said. They also admire Riki’s intellect, “She is extremely smart and was the best in her class. I love how she challenges me.”

Riki feels the same – she loves Lee’s mind. This couple’s roots began first as friends. Riki immediately felt that she could be herself around Lee and with their first conversations, they dove deep. Riki, who describes herself as straight-edged, admires the diversity of Lee’s rich life experiences. Lee’s adventurous approach to life makes it easy for Riki to walk outside her comfort zone, in all the best ways. 

We met up last Fall to highlight their relationship and photograph their engagement couples photos in Lee’s hometown of Butte, Montana.

When it came to choosing their wedding location, this couple knew that Montana was the only place they wanted to be.

Riki and Lee gathered an intimate group of close friends and family out at their uncle’s property for their DIY Ennis Montana wedding day. It has been a wet June in Montana this year. Upon arriving at their wedding venue, guests were greeted by the vast mountain landscape covered in a lush pallet of green colors. As far as Montana standards go, you could not have had nicer wedding weather.

Their wedding day was carefree and relaxed. The couple got ready together with their friends while sipping coffee, eating bagels and BBQ, and telling countless funny stories. There were numerous special details of their day on display. Riki wore her grandmother’s wedding dress from the 1950s and a sapphire wedding ring she and Lee found in Phillipsburg, Montana mine.

Everyone in attendance worked together to make Riki and Lee’s wedding day special and uniquely their own.

After a lovely, emotional wedding ceremony, Riki and Lee with their wedding guests took in the sunset during the cocktail hour. Guest dined on a satisfying taco buffet provided by Fork and Spoon catering under the reception tent where many heartfelt toasts were made.

Weather moves fast through the Madison Valley. Throughout the day, we had an assortment of epic clouds roll through that created beautiful pockets of sunlight. The group came together to batten down the reception tent when a strong wind and rainstorm moved through. Thankfully, the rainstorm was a short-lived event. At its conclusion, we were rewarded with a lovely rainbow over the Madison Valley and beautiful golden hour light we were able to photograph.

After everyone was fed, tables were cleared to make room for the epic dance party. Orchestrated by the incomparable DJ Missy O’Malley, Riki, Lee, and their wedding guests went wild dancing late into the evening.

In all, this couple’s warmth, adventurousness, kindness, and focus on each other created such an amazing energy to be around. I love documenting love and had such a great time celebrating and photographing Riki and Lee on their big day.

I could not be happier for these two. Congratulations to the bride and gride! I wish them a lifetime of happiness! -M


Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Gallatin River Lodge Winter Wedding ceremony of Amanda & Harley.

It has been such a fun time getting to know these two high school sweethearts over the past year.

They met at the age of 16-year-old. From the get-go, they shared an easy-going sense of humor and appreciation of the little things in one another.

Harley, usually a shy kid, recalled how profound it was that she could always bring him out of his shell and how to completely be himself around others.

Thinking back on what was a difficult childhood, Amanda loved that meeting Harley showed her the possibility of a better life and how to be a kid again.

More often than not, this usually takes the form of dancing and singing to music while cooking together.

Over the next ten years, Amanda and Harley’s relationship flourished.

“We were able to develop around each other and made up for each other’s perceived “faults”, Amanda said.

It was a wonderful, mutual balance of support, love, and acceptance. Each knew they had found their person.

What began with an April phone call, culminated into a really fun and pretty unique portrait photography experience for them last summer.

Through discovering all that they valued in their relationship, we ended up highlighting some of their fondest memories growing up together.

For them, it was going on dates to the historic Washoe Theatre in downtown Anaconda and dining at one of their favorite restaurants in Butte, the Pekin Noodle Parlor – the oldest Chinese restaurant in the country.

The experience was a hoot.

Needless to say, the build-up of excitement for their Gallatin River Lodge winter wedding day could not be overstated.

These two wanted to spread out their wedding celebration so they could highlight the seasons of Montana through their photography.

They loved the idea of having a snowy wedding and opted for a winter ceremony in Bozeman with their immediate family.

Later this summer, they have plans for their wedding reception to be in their old hometown of Butte, Montana.

As their wedding day arrived, unseasonally warm temperatures, unfortunately, melted most of the snow outside but that small detail didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.

They rolled with it, put on boots along with a good attitude and we were able to make some creative outdoor portraits for them.

After a brief ceremony, the two families came together for a lovely evening to celebrate, laugh and share stories then settle in for a nice intimate dinner.

I look forward to photographing their grand wedding reception in August.

Congratulations to the newlyweds! – M

Wedding Vendors:

Venue/food/drinks: Gallatin River Lodge

Flowers: Sola Chic Boutique LLC

Cake: Julie Hoskins and Big Sky Wild Flour

Hair/makeup: Alex McDaniel and Alli Abraham with Running Bare Aesthetics.

Signs: Kayli Renae Designs

Rings: Jewelry Studio and Millers

Videography: Eterna Films 

Photography: Greener Visuals Photography


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Happy New Year everyone! I’m proud to present my Best of 2018 Montana Wedding Photographs from Greener Visuals Photography!

I always find this time of year to be thrilling.

It’s a moment we collectively engage in looking ahead and backward from where we came.

The last week of the year always holds a lot of important annual events in my life. It’s time spent with family around the holidays, the celebration of my birthday (I turned 36 years old a few days ago, yikes!), and the ringing in of the new year.

I always take this time to self-reflect on the great experiences with my wedding photography clients from the past year. It’s a time to begin throttling forward toward my new creative goals on the near horizon. I’m forever striving to be the best version of myself (mind, body, and spirit) and finding ways to better serve my clients and community.

2018 was a positive year for me. I had lots of growth, explored new places, overcame new challenges, met fascinating people, and made many good memories. I feel blessed for all the new relationships I made throughout the year and for being able to tell candid, creative stories through my photographs!

I’m excited about my upcoming adventures and the fun clients I’ll get to document in 2019.

In the spirit of reflection, I’ve gathered up some of my favorite wedding photographs from the past 2018 wedding season.

It’s such a joy for me to relive some of my favorite moments all gathered in one place. I feel honored to have been a part of all the wonderful celebrations this year with my wedding clients.

With pride, here are my Best of 2018 Montana Wedding Photographs by Greener Visuals Photography.

If you or a loved one you know is in need of an epic Bozeman wedding photographer, engagement photographs, a new family portrait, or updated business headshots in 2019, Greener Visuals Photography is now booking for all your professional photographic needs!

Grateful for all of your continued support and I look forward to hearing from you! -M

Bozeman Wedding Photographer Springhill Pavilion Bridger Mountains couple portrait

I’m still buzzing with excitement after photographing the Springhill Pavilion Wedding of Allison and Matt outside Bozeman, Montana.

I’ve gotten to know these two Montana transplants over the past year. I have been looking forward to documenting their wedding day for some time now.

And it’s all because they happened to meet by chance.

At the time, Allison and Matt were studying Ecology in their graduate programs at UC Davis in Davis, California. They didn’t know each other but fate would soon change that.

One night after class, Allison was planning to catch up with a friend, but there was a location mix up. She ended up in the wrong bar. As fate would have it, it was in that wrong bar where she met Matt. They instantly hit it off.

Davis, California was a place where I used to call home back when I was a newspaper photojournalist. It’s a place that is close to my heart. When Allison and Matt came into my studio to discuss their wedding day plans, we bonded immediately over Davis stories and the realization that we knew many of the same people.

Sometimes you encounter certain people in your life that you know will instantly become friends. These two are wonderful, hilarious goofballs.

Their Springhill Pavilion wedding day was everything you would hope one could be. We had lovely Spring-like weather, the perfect rustic setting, and a gathering of friends and family that were ready to get down on the dance floor. Their wedding day was an absolute blast to photograph. Here are some of my favorite photographs I made on their wedding day. Congrats to the newlyweds! -Mike

Bozeman Wedding Photographer Springhill Pavilion

I’m still buzzing with excitement after photographing the Springhill Pavilion Wedding Day of Allison and Matt this past weekend.

I’ve gotten to know these two Montana transplants over the past year and have been looking forward to documenting their wedding day for some time now. Both got their Ecology graduate degrees from UC Davis, a place where I used to live and a place that is close to heart. We bonded immediately over Davis stories and the realization that we knew many of the same people. Sometimes you encounter certain people in your life that you know will instantly become friends.

These two are wonderful, hilarious goofballs.

Their Montana wedding day was everything you would hope one could be – lovely Spring-like weather, the perfect setting, and a gathering of friends and family that were ready to get down on the dance floor. Their wedding day was an absolute blast to photograph. As I begin editing through all of the photographs, I wanted to share a preview of them. Many more to come! Stay tuned… -Mike

 

I’m proud to present the Best of 2016 wedding photography from Greener Visuals!

Winter has arrived and it’s snowing in Montana now. I’ve been reminiscing about the past year. It’s funny how time flies when you’ve been having so much fun. 2016 was another great year of documenting the fun memories of my client’s wedding day. I kept busy this year photographing over the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Southwest Montana offers up so many beautiful places to get married and I feel thankful that I was able to continue to explore the hidden pockets throughout. It was such an honor to be a part of my client’s wedding celebration.

I feel so grateful to be doing the candid wedding storytelling photography that I do.

My travels this year took me all over Montana. Traveling up to Whitefish down to Yellowstone National Park and as far away as downtown Chicago, Illinois. I even got to witness a wedding in northeast Mongolia.

In addition to having fun documenting the love, one of my favorite highlights of the year was when I moved into my new photography studio inside of Gallatin Event Rentals. It has been a wonderful place to house my wedding and portrait photography business. Having an inviting, comfortable space to host my clients and hear their wedding story has been such a pleasure. If you haven’t stopped by already, I’d be happy to give you the dime tour and geek out on photography with you.

Here are a few of my favorite wedding images that stood out to me from this past year.

I am now booking for the 2017 wedding season and I travel all across the country. I’m looking forward to the new smiles and faces I’ll meet and photograph in the new year.  Wishing you all a fantastic new year ahead! -M

I recently photographed the Big Yellow Barn destination wedding day of Kim and Preston in Bozeman, Montana.

These two lovebirds hail from Washington D.C. and wanted to make their Big Yellow Barn Destination Wedding day special for their out-of-town guests with an authentic Montana rustic barn wedding in Bozeman.

I’ve photographed a few weddings at the Big Yellow Barn over the years and it’s a great Bozeman barn wedding venue option for hosting your celebration.

Situated 10 miles north of Bozeman, the big yellow barn looks out to a prominent unobstructed view of Ross Peak and the surrounding Bridger Mountains. Take some time with your wedding photographer during the “golden hour” to walk the grassy property. It’s a perfect, clean mountain backdrop for wedding portraits.

The barn itself has plenty of space for them and their guests. Kim and Preston set up the catering downstairs which created a good flow to feed their guests via buffet. It worked really well to get everyone through and fed.

The upstairs barn loft is massive. There’s lots of room for seating your guests for dinner and it can double as a spacious epicenter for your wedding dance floor. In between songs, you and your guests can mingle out on the elevated deck and down on the lawn. Overall, it serves as a really great layout for a wedding.

Kim and Preston wanted their special day captured in a documentary photography style so they reached out to me. The Big Yellow Barn offered the perfect setting for them. Warm weather, a couple in love, great people, excellent Montana barbeque, cupcakes, and an assortment of epic dance moves made the day not only memorable but one heck of a party.

I love the energy they and their guests brought to the celebration. I was so glad I could be a part of it. Here are some of my favorite photos from the day. Wishing these two all the best and many years of happiness. Congrats to the newlyweds Kim and Preston! -M

After celebrating the holidays with friends and family here in Montana, I jumped right into my 2016 wedding photography season to photograph the Gallatin River Lodge wedding of Kiera & Collin in Bozeman Montana.

I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for a while now. I had a great time earlier in the year photographing this couple during their couples portrait experience in downtown Bozeman. These two are great and brought lot of energy to their photo session.

For their wedding day, this couple brought a small gathering of their loved ones together to help them celebrate their union at the comfortable, top-rate fly fishing lodge just outside of Bozeman, Montana.

When wedding couples have their wedding day in Montana, it goes without saying that you need to have some portraits taken out in the majestic Big Sky scenery. Kiera and Collin were a blast and were up for anything.

In this case, we all braved the chilly 10 degrees of Montana winter weather for a series of quick Gallatin River Lodge Wedding portraits around the perimeter of the lodge. Despite being freezing cold, these two were beaming ear to ear with smiles. It was so cold that I had to ask them to hold their breath so that the cold fog wouldn’t block their faces.

It’s so much fun to photograph people in love. I had a great time with these guys and their crew. A great way to kick off the New Year! Wish these two all the best, -M

Happy 2016 everybody! After celebrating the holidays with friends and family here in Montana, I jumped right into my 2016 wedding photography season to photograph and document Kiera and Collin’s Gallatin River Lodge wedding day outside Bozeman, Montana this past weekend. I had a great time getting to know these two lovebirds during their downtown Bozeman engagement photo session back in early December with me. This past Saturday, the wedding day finally arrived. A small gathering of their loved ones braved the chilly 10 degrees Montana winter weather to help them celebrate their union at the comfortable, top-rate fly fishing lodge. Here is a preview of a few favorite photographs I made during their wedding day. I’m hard at work editing through the rest. Congrats on getting married you guys! More awesome is on deck. Stay tuned… -M

 

A few weeks back, I photographed the Springhill Pavilion Wedding Day of Sara & Cory in Bozeman, Montana. It has been so much fun getting to know these two over the past year. I especially enjoyed my time with them earlier this Spring when we gathered to photograph their engagement session throughout downtown Bozeman, Montana.

I wish all Septembers in Montana could be as nice as this year has been. As luck would have it, this couple planned their wedding day perfectly in regard to the seasonal weather.

In a rare window of opportunity, the smoke from the summer wildland fires eased off giving way to a clear blue sky and calm warm conditions during their wedding day. Under the backdrop of the Bridger Mountains, Springhill Pavilion served as a perfect backdrop for Sara and Cory’s Montana wedding day.

Friends and family were able to mingle outside and play on the provided trampoline.

Here are some of my favorite images I made during their wedding celebration. Wishing them a lifetime of happiness. Congrats to Sara & Cory! -M

I’m happy to share the Springhill Pavilion Wedding Day Preview of Sara and Cory’s celebration!

I wish all Septembers in Montana could be as nice as this year has been. Over this past weekend, I photographed the wedding of Sara and Cory at the Springhill Pavilion near the base of the Bridger Mountains. In a rare window of opportunity, the smoke from the summer wildland fires eased off giving way to a clear blue sky day and calm warm conditions. A perfect backdrop to a wonderful wedding day. I’m busy editing through all the awesome. Here is a preview of some photos that have stood out to me so far. Many more wedding photos to come. Stay tuned… -M

Update: Check out their finished wedding day photos on my blog here.

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I’m excited to post these wedding photos. About a month ago, I traveled to Chico, California from Bozeman, Montana to photograph the destination wedding day of Sara and Jason. These two lovebirds booked me well over a year out after her work friend found me and showed my photography to Sara during a internet search for Northern California wedding photographers during a long overnight emergency work shift (Sara is a veterinarian). Talking with with Jason and Sara on the phone we quickly bonded over discovering a mutual love of the outdoors, fly fishing and the occasional craft beer. These were my kind of people. I had been looking forward to their wedding day for a while. Our first time meeting was in the morning of their wedding day but it was like being reacquainted with old friends. I met up with them as they were getting ready at the Hotel Diamond in downtown Chico and photographed them as the day unfolded.

Their wedding was a fantastic DIY (Do it yourself!) event hosted at his mother’s farm property outside of town called the Double R RanchIt was put together with the help of friends and family who were successful in creating a charming garden farm themed wedding celebration. Dinner was served in the garden amongst the sunflowers and squash on wood tables made by the groomsmen. The barn itself had been just finished by the wedding party in time for the event. Everywhere you looked there was a personal touch. It was a beautiful day filled with warm weather and smiles. A fun weekend with great people! I am just thrilled for these two! Congrats to Sara and Jason and many years of continued happiness! -Mike Greener

To see all of their wedding celebration photos, click here.

 

I’ve been excited to post these photos for a while now. A couple of weekends ago, I drove over to western Montana to photograph the wedding day of Ashley and David at the fantastic Teller Wildlife Refuge Slack House and Barn in Corvallis, Montana. Ashley has been a longtime friend of mine since our time together attending The University of Montana and the two are making a living in Butte, Montana as social workers. You would be hard pressed to find a cuter couple. I had an awesome time photographing the fun throughout their wedding day. Thinking back on it makes me smile. The entire time I was hanging out with them, you could tell their excitement by the big grins they had on their faces all day. It’s such a fun thing to witness two people completely head over heels for one another. I think that emotion really shines through in their wedding photos. Having photographed at the refuge years ago, I had a pretty good idea of where my best images would come from. This place was a Montana wedding photographers dream. I used the rustic Montana farm backdrop to it’s fullest by exploring the variations of color schemes and trying to capture the feeling of their wedding day. It is such a joy for me to document the union of friends. I’m thrilled for these two and wish them all the best! -M

A couple weeks ago, I saddled up from my home here in Bozeman, Montana and hopped a flight bound for Charleston, South Carolina to photograph Josh and Elizabeth’s beautiful wedding day festivities. I love traveling for weddings! Photographing in new places all over the country is like an artist working with a brand new canvas and I couldn’t wait to start. It was my first time exploring the charming city and my first time being completely submerged in the throws of southern charm, cuisine and lifestyle that the folks in the deep south continue to proudly cultivate. It was pretty surreal walking along the historic streets and adorable old buildings that date back to the Civil War. For Josh and Liz, who hail from the suburbs of Chicago, it was that southern soul that they wanted to incorporate into their wedding celebration. The couple decided to have their wedding at the Creek Club at I’On in the small town of Mt. Pleasant just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. The place offered a perfect setting along the banks of picturesque Hobcaw Creek for both the couple’s wedding ceremony and reception. A huge convenience not to be under estimated if you are ever planning your own wedding day. Despite ninety degree temperatures and full-on humidity, the day was packed with all the right ingredients of a gorgeous southern wedding day and the couple’s small gathering of friends and family celebrated their union well into the night hours. It was an incredible weekend with these two and I wish them all the very best! -M

To see Josh and Elizabeth entire wedding day photographs click here.

The fun continues! I just got back from photographing Ashley and David’s beautiful Montana cowboy styled wedding at the Teller Wildlife Refuge Slack House and Barn in Corvallis, Montana this past weekend. Here’s a sneak peak at a couple snaps from their wedding day. Many more to come. -M

I came to know Molly and Brian through a referral from my friend and wedding planner extraordinaire Fearon, of Fearon May Events. The two were looking for a destination wedding photographer who specialized in a candid documentary photographic approach for their wedding photography and Fearon put us in touch. From our very first conversations about their wedding day back in November of 2011, we hit it off right from the get go. I love Midwesterners. Both of them are living in the Chicagoland of my youth working as financial advisory consultants, a job that allows them to travel all over the country. All the traveling has helped to develop their love of fine dining and good wines which they where sure to incorporate into their wedding celebration. Coincidentally, they met at a work happy hour and after dating for the past two years when the time came for them to choose a place to get married, these two foodies had their hearts set on a Sonoma wine country wedding. They could not have picked a prettier spot. So about a month ago, I traveled out from my new home in Bozeman, Montana back to lush, green vineyards of Sonoma, California for a weekend documenting their wedding festivities at the BR Cohn Winery.

Other Vendors:

DJ, Lighting, Officiant: Extreme Productions

Catering: Grapevine Catering

Florist: Sonoma Flowers

Dessert: Sift Cupcake

Rentals: Wine Country Rentals

Limo: Royal Coach Limo

Here are some of my favorite photos from my time with Molly and Brian. I have had so much fun getting to know these two. I wish them all the best! -M

To see all of their wedding photos and more, you can view them here