Meet my friend Morgan and her sassy blog!

Working in the wedding business is hard on the balance in your life.  I spend endless hours working at the computer on beautiful summer days and often into the night and since I know my brides would prefer to work with a happy, centered and sane person who's personal state is reflected in our interactions, I find the definite need to seek that balance.

My family is an amazing support and a trip to the hot springs so we can get 'our mermaid on' is always a great way to unwind.  However one of my crucial outlets to rejuvenate is my group of sassy ladies called The Assets.  We have this special sort of chaos that occurs when we come together that is uplifting and well, kind of like a whole other home.  It's five ladies, their midgets, their dogs and a whole lot of wine and amazing home cooked food that begins to evolve as we chop and laugh and sip and catch up between a few hollers at the kiddos.

By some great stroke of luck or genius, we are all in the wedding business so we do a lot of Tuesday get togethers since weekends are crazy but they always lift up my spirit for the next round of rocking the wedding world.

My friend and fellow Asset Morgan is the glue that keeps it all together, one of the great instigators and definitely the hostess with the most-ess.  She has just started blogging about our crew and she is witty, well written and generally brilliant, so you are sure to enjoy it. Plus she is one seriously talented wedding photographer.  So check out her blog Morgan LaMare Photography.

Megan & Adam's beautiful Montana Wedding

I received this wonderful email from Megan who had her wedding at The Woodlands this August.  It warms my heart when our brides, grooms or their families take the time out of their busy schedule to share with us what really made their day great.  Thank you for your feedback, which helps empower what we do and guides us with wisdom on how we might do it even better.

Dear Elsa, 

You have been wonderful to work with during this past year of planning and especially on the day of.  It was also a great help that my other vendors (DJ, caterer, photographer, officiant, bartender etc) knew the layout of the Woodlands and knew you. They all said the same thing: “Elsa is so great to work with!”

The Woodlands itself was gorgeous. So many guest came up to me during the reception telling me what a beautiful location it was—worth the drive! (most of the guests had driven from Billings or further). I loved that the bridal party and then my dad and myself crossed the bridge on our way to the aisle—the way I felt coming across that bridge is something I will never forget. 

The patio with the fire column were also a huge hit and keep people up and mingling.  The photos Blubird took look so beautiful with the backdrop of the lush wooded hillside in some, and the mountains in others. This woodsy yet elegant feel was exactly what we were looking for for our wedding—and the Woodlands was perfect!

Thanks so much for everything—I will recommend you guys to anyone looking to get married in the Bozeman area.

Megan

I threw in a storyboard of the event for you to check out the room and details.   The white paper lanterns are a 'Finishing Touch' offered by The Woodlands, which accomplished a brightening of the space against the dark rich eggplant, sage and mango colors. As always, click on photo to enlarge.  The cupcakes are by Elle's Belles.

 The Blubird images below by Meggan and Jennie Lynn are as always, beautiful!  I love the capture of that signature Woodlands light.  These two photographers are so professional, sweet, talented and welcoming which makes them a true joy to work with.  P.S. Love those purple shoes Megan!

And they walked off into the sunset.

Wedding Color and Decor Inspiration

Good heavens!  I was shocked to see September knocking at the door.  Time files, life flies and I have been soaring right along with it.  It's been a gloriously busy and wonderful summer as we mold and shape the space where brides and grooms can breathe the Montana mountain air, capture memories under old growth trees and dance the night away in great celebration.  I typically try to find a calm moment to take some images of each event to inspire brides-to-come with color combinations and decor ideas that will help them springboard to their own personal look in our always evolving great room.  I thought I would take a moment to re-live a few of the weddings we have seen here at The Woodlands this year. All the linens below are from The Woodlands.

Dory and Mike's fresh color combo turned out great.  Satin brown runners, with teal accents and napkins.  Flowers by Bloom and the antique double wash bins for drinks are a 'Finishing Touch' offered by The Woodlands.  *Feel free to click on each image for a larger view of all the beautiful details. Here are a few to feast your eyes on.

Aqua has been a hot wedding color this year.  Fresh like the Montana sky. . . and if you look close enough, you will discover fresh rosemary tucked into the arrangements.  I love herb accents, they are so aromatic and earthy!

Amanda was very hands on in all her decor.  She went with the bold and vibrant orange Gerbera daisy and brought in the element of organic texture with the burlap.  I think Montana weddings do burlap with amazing grace and style!  And she featured her arrangements in the ever popular, always charming and yet economical mason jar.

Another Amanda chose The Woodlands for her wedding a week after the Amanda I mentioned above, which definitely kept me on my toes.   I have seen purple in The Woodlands great room for wedding receptions plenty of times yet I was struck by the fresh look the added white overlay brought to the room.  Hello again, my friend the mason jar.

Adam and Amber embraced their colorful side in all its hot pink glory!  The guests picked up on the couples energy for life and danced the night away on the patio under the stars.  I am pretty sure I saw a groomsman that abandoned the white suit jacket and shirt leaving only his hot pink vest for the sake of aerodynamics on the dance floor. ;)  Oh,yeah.

Please forgive me for not crediting all the floral or cake vendors that contributed their talents for these events.  I don't always have that information on hand, but if you do, send us a shout.  I would be delighted to honor them with a mention.

Anniversary: Charlton & Elsa- One decade, baby!

Ten years ago, my husband Chuck and I stood before family and friends and said our vows of marriage.

The celebration of such milestones is always a perfect opportunity to pause in our busy lives and sit in reflection. We promised to honor each others dreams, support each others personal growth and to "speak softly, listen deeply, laugh often, and comfort quickly".   As I look back, I have an even better understanding of what we did that day. With our vows, we had committed to a kind of road map of how our life, our marriage and our relationship to each other would be. . and then we celebrated it (sangria and all!).

We pull out those same vows every anniversary and make those very promises to each other.  Every year, it means something different in relation to where we are in life, but it means something a little deeper every time.

As I look back on our wedding, I remember being moved by the overwhelming amount of love I felt from everyone around me and I remember feeling more beautiful than I had ever felt and I was so elated to be marrying THIS man, that I just floated through the day.  {That's us below; photo by Winslow Studios}   Regular life may have less floating, but it's true, real and good and we should seize every opportunity to celebrate it and its milestones. 

Many of you reading this may be in a very different place.  As I look back, you look forward,.  You are just beginning this journey.  But through it all, be it the planning, the day itself or the blessed, yet real life that follows, I hope that you speak softly, listen deeply and laugh often with each other.  I hope we get to have you here at The Woodlands to build your own memories to last a lifetime.  You too, will get to look back on those moments you made together, under the firs, surrounded by family and friends and celebrate what you did and how far you have come.  Even the small victories should be celebrated. . .like finding the dress that makes you feel spectacular, discovering the perfect location nestled in an enchanted forest ;) or finally dropping all those invites in the mail! Celebrate!

One final note; this will be the first part of a new series I want to do on this blog.  As we are able, I will be gathering other photos, thoughts and stories for past weddings at The Woodlands and posting Happy Anniversary spots on other couples who have walked the Woodlands on their wedding day.  I hope you find inspiration in their perspectives.  So look for these and contact me if you have a story or memory to share.

An August weekend of joyous wedding celebrations

This last weekend was whirlwind of wonderful weddings with outstandingly cool folks.  Thursday brought sweet Penny and Nick who had  family friend Governor Brian Schweitzer performing their ceremony.  I got the chance to tour the Woodlands property with Brian's special services security team and meet some of the great guys from the Highway Patrol for some added excitement and even talked Ghost Pepper salsa (yum) with Justin from Helena's Karmadillos.

Friday, we had a fun-loving crew of people that came to celebrate with the lovely Dory and her new husband, Mike, a scotch and cigar columnist.  They were so relaxed and quick to laughter on their day here at The Woodlands that it was hard not to smile just being around them.

Finally, our kindhearted gem of a bride, Stephanie and her handsome Justin celebrated their union in style.  I will leave you with these photos - including the fun shot of Stephanie captured by Doug of Loneman Photography - and some heartfelt words from Stephanie on her experience here at The Woodlands.

We cannot THANK YOU enough for the amazing and PERFECT weekend! Our 'Big Day' was even more wonderful than we could have imagined! We will be forever grateful to you and The Woodlands!

All Our Love and Prayers,

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander ;)

 

A Woodlands Farrie-bell

There is no description of who I am or what we do that would ever be complete without mention of my daughter, Farris Victoria.  The ways that she expands my heart are boundless and her existence has changed the way I look at  life and weddings for that matter.  So please allow me to introduce you to my 'baby angel'.

When a family arrives on the day of a Woodland bride's wedding, I am often impacted by how quickly life ebbs and flows. I look at my 3 year-old little red-head just beginning to embrace the world and then the bride, a woman stepping beautifully into the next chapter of her life. Our bride's parents must feel like their little girl has gone in the blink of an eye from a 3 year-old like mine (who picks dandelions for bouquets and tells me that she's getting "maryied") to a woman ready to walk down the aisle. 

I have never seen time move faster than when Farris came along.  She is my little forever-changing reminder of how life moves forward and each day is precious.

I hope many things for the brides that choose The Woodlands for their weddings.  I often remind myself that each beautiful bride that graces our doorstep is someone's daughter, someone's treasure, someone's joy.  I find great joy in assisting with every mother's daughter's wedding, believing that the peace and happiness I plant now for others will eventually flower in my own life.  Someday I will be blessed to see my little peanut take that long aisle walk away from me to join what I am sure will be a wonderful man.  In the meantime I'll treasure dandelion bouquets and the privilege of providing wonderful parents and brides the chance to celebrate their own milestones.