Happy Anniversary: Jane and Tim

A little reflection is a good thing and with that thought, I welcome you to this segment of our blog where we celebrate a couple that joined their lives in the space under our Woodland trees a year ago.


Last September we had a truly delightful and genuine couple that fell in love with our property for their wedding.  They touched us with their kindness, appreciation and open hearts.   They celebrated with a simple yet beautiful fall reception featuring copper and garnet with accents of burnt orange for a lovely fall scheme.


The lovely Miss Janie O of Janie Osborne Photography was there to capture the warmth of the group and the delightful Mollie Eckman coordinated the details with style as always.  The ceremony was officiated by the wonderful Tess Jones of Happily Ever After, flowers by Avant Floral and the linens customized by The Woodlands (as always!)

Here are some thoughts and wisdom that Jane shared as she looks back at the day.


 What was the best decision you made?


"I think the best decision I made, hands down, was to enjoy not just the wedding day itself, but every step of the planning process leading up to it.  I knew I wanted my wedding day to be peaceful and harmonious and joyful, and that if I spent the entire year stressing and panicking over the linens and flowers and seating arrangements, then on the day itself I'd look around at those things and associate them with how stressed I felt when I was deciding on them.  Because I decided that planning for a joyful day should be a joyful process, when I looked around on my wedding day I was thinking about how much fun the last year had been and how much fun married life would be going forward."


What was a favorite moment you remember?


"We held the ceremony outside on a perfect fall day.  The sun was shining and there were fluffy white clouds in the sky.  It wasn't too hot or too cold - everything about the weather was ideal.  During the ceremony and afterward, during some of the picture taking, little bits of white cottonwood fluff began to float down from the sky onto the meadow.  Post-ceremony a couple of the kids had the best time chasing the fluff around.  It was like a magical fairy land."



"This isn't a description I throw around lightly: it was absolutely perfect. Elsa was a joy to work with during the planning - and thank you again for providing our dream location!"

 

Thank you Jane for your wonderful perspective.  It was an honor and joy to have Tim and Jane at The Woodlands to celebrate their day.

All the best to them and here is to many, many more joyous years to come!

Happy Anniversary!

Just for Fun: Escape from Wedding in Subaru

Considering Montana's love affair with the Subaru, I thought this was a totally Bozeman appropriate post.  

P.S. Honey, if you are reading this, (even though it is charming) I do not, {I repeat}, do not want this for our second honeymoon.  Think sand, hammocks, sushi and Coronas - K? ;)  Love you!

Powerful wedding planning tools by Google & Style Me Pretty

The internet has dramatically changed the process of planning weddings.  Now brides are sitting in front of the computer screen and discovering creative ways to DIY, planning weddings in Montana from a far, and exploring more creative ideas than you (and definitely your fiance!) will know what to do with.  But thank heavens some of the daunting tasks of planning a wedding have become easier.

GoogleDocs and Style Me Pretty have teamed up to take the nightmare out of the large task of hunting down each person's address on your guest list.  It's like wedding planning software without having to buy the software.  This process allows you to send out a 'save the date' via email that acts as a request  for all your wedding guests to reply back to you with their current  mailing address so you don't have to hunt down the mailing address of nearly everyone you know.  It carries each guest's entered info right into a complete spreadsheet for you to work from, come invitation time.  Simply click on the GoogleDocs link for a super quick video that describes the whole process.

It is not fondly that I remember the task of address gathering for my wedding and I am 'googly-eyed' over the options that are out there now. Ok, enough with the puns.  Just check it out.  If you are planning a wedding or any kind of event now, you will save time and when we spread the love, the love always comes back, so really, everyone wins! ;)

A spectacular fall Montana wedding for Jenna and Joe

Jenna has an impeccable eye for detail and with her mom assisting with the vision and her dad there to build what she needed, like the gorgeous half wine barrels for their iced bottles and the redwood cake base, this fall wedding was truly made with love.  The grooms mom, Michelle of Budget Bouquets and More designed all the flower arrangements with the great height of curly willow, a variety of richly colored orchids and little succulents which were complemented by the natural touches of burlap runners and Montana slate.  Jenna and Joe love to dance so they did a unique room arrangement of square tables in a U shape around the perimeter of the room giving them a generous dance floor to kick their heels up!  Here is a few peaks at the room and the Michelle's beautiful tablesscapes.

The bride and groom showed off their smarts by choosing an all star cast of wedding vendors and as a result, their day was smooth and perfectly detailed.  Kene Sperry of Eye in the Sky was there to work his magic, capturing the moments right down to the detail with his amazing signature perspective.  It is always a pleasure to work with the great talents of our area and Kene is surely one of them.  Plus the guy has one hell of a smile.  The lovely fruit laden cake cake was by kick-ass Sarah of WeeBee's and the mouthwatering plated dinner was by Mr. Steven Kuntz of Montana Epicurean another super cool human being and foodie favorite.


Cheers to all the efforts that made this day just what Jenna and Joe wanted.  Now for Eye in the Sky's eye candy. . .

 

Picture this guys with a Tarantino-style slow motion scene set to music. . .

I know, cool.

:

Love the little nose nudge. . .

And the forehead touch. . .

  

Sigh.  Thank you guys for finding the perfect setting to celebrate your love in The Woodlands.

May blessings and light follow you always.

Stephanie & Justin's Wedding Slideshow by Doug Loneman

We were delighted to have the love, light and energy of the new Mr. and Mrs. Alexander at The Woodlands. This classically beautiful bride and her forever grinning groom will steal your hearts
as you view the moments of their day.

 Click here to take a peak into this Woodlands Wedding

Thank you Doug of Loneman Photography for your talent and beautiful perspective as you captured the emotion and the celebration of the day.  As always, truly beautiful work!

And to the happy couple, many blessings to you!

Chelsea & Adam's Complete Wedding Album by Larry Stanley

It's always fun to step into the special day of a sweet and beautiful couple like Adam and Chelsea.  Explore this July wedding album by a truly excellent photographer who works with zen-like calm, Mr. Larry Stanley.  Cake by Deliciously Beautiful, a delightfully light and fresh meal provided by Food for Thought and Day of Coordination by Elsa Campbell of The Woodlands.

Click here for Chelsea and Adam's July Wedding by Larry Stanley

Now an honored "Little Black Book" Montana wedding venue from Style Me Pretty.

Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book is a highly edited collection of wedding service providers that are  handpicked for their artistic and fabulous wedding skills.  This list has been compiled to help the discerning bride find the best without having to wade through the rest. Word has it that these vendors are the best of the best.

So on that note, allow me to trumpet the news that The Woodlands at Cottonwood Canyon is now, not only a Style Me Pretty, Little Black Book Vendor but we are currently the exclusive venue for the entire state of Montana!  After Style Me Pretty did the thorough interview process with The Woodlands, they shared with us that one of the reasons they loved The Woodlands was because of our sweet taffy like texture. . . meaning our venue is as flexible as it is delightful and beautiful.  So don't stretch your limits, find a venue that will flex to meet what you are looking for.  Whether it's a DYI explosion or a deluxe all-inclusive experience or anywhere in between, you will find the solution here. And be sure to check out Style Me Pretty's incredible blog, if you aren't a groupie already.  The depth of ideas and insight may capture you so much that you shouldn't be surprised if you totally lose track of time as you explore the site's fabulous wedding and event content.

Nicole & Jason's Montana Wedding: Personal touches and radiant sunshine

Nicole brought in some wonderfully personal touches to her and Jason's July wedding here at The Woodlands.  Nicole collected milk glass vases for over a year (that is dedication!) and then had them filled with the simplest hydrangea in vibrant periwinkle.  The cake (Good God, it's gorgeous) was a design by Carrie at Sweet Pea Bakery and featured an antique broach embellishment that complemented the broach on Nicole's dress and in her hair. They chose a more intimate half circle ceremony layout so their guest would surround the chuppah and the couple as they said their vows.  I have great appreciation for the beautiful traditions and ceremony the Jewish faith brings to their celebrations.

The Woodlands is honored to share some snippets of the day provided by talented local photographer Charlie, with Eubank Photography.  The photos are outstanding!   I can't get over how dreamy the whole day looked as the summer sunlight filtered through the trees and touched the ceremony with it's warm rays.

Congratulations Nicole and Jason!  It was a beautiful day and we were so honored that you chose The Woodlands.

Each Woodlands wedding is a personal translation.

Our first wedding of this weekend by Icing on the Cake was beautiful, fresh, and completely elegant with various shades of green and slate accented with beautiful white flowers in silver oversize mint julep vases.  The following day, a new wedding came through and translated our space into a punchy, relaxed and fun-lovin' atmosphere with bright orange crinkle linens, colorful Chinese lanterns, happy Gerbera daisies, a killer photo booth in the trees and our relaxed bride in a short lacy vintage dress... and cowboy boots. 

Instead of a cocktail hour after the ceremony, they did it before, so their guests drifted in and mingled on the patio with drinks and appetizers.  It may not be for everyone, but I personally loved the way it opens people up.  By the time the wedding ceremony rolled around, everyone was cheering for the wedding to start instead just cheering at the end!  What a great way to relax the intensity and formality of a ceremony if that is something you may be apprehensive about.

Every Woodlands translation tells a story about the bride and groom.  Weddings of our generation are so much more a personal expression then ever before, so what would your Woodlands translation be?  

Here on The Woodlands blog, we will be continually sharing our brides and grooms unique translations to inspire you as you shape your own.  When your celebration is sprinkled with elements that are truely yours, the day will only mean that much more.  When it's at The Woodlands it will only be that much more amazing. 

A Italiano Rehearsal Dinner, al Fresco!

We were blessed to have the warmest and most wonderful set of families here at The Woodlands this August for the Stevens wedding.  The bride was savvy and took advantage of our weekday discount and then added the option for the discounted 'day before the wedding' for their rehearsal dinner.  Jenni and Sy were engaged in Tuscany, Italy (so romantic. . .sigh) and Sy's mother, Denice wanted to honor that special wedding proposal by hosting a rehearsal dinner in true Italian fashion.  A mobile wood-fired pizza by the groom's sister was serving individual pizza's (one featured a red wine-rosemary sauce and shaved dark chocolate!).  With a look at the beautiful country Italian style that was created in the beautiful afternoon light of The Woodlands, it is safe to say that fun was had by all.  What a wonderful way to start a weekend of celebration.  That's Amore!