Happy Autumn, strangers!

Well, you may (or may not) have noticed that I have been a bad, bad blogger lately.  Life slid easily from weddings non-stop to a whirlwind of catch up and reconnecting with other projects that were back-burnered during the intensity of wedding season.  To sum up, I had my first weekend off since May and that was a slice of joy.  I escaped to the spectacular Double T Ranch and got my groove on with those fine ladies there, Private Chef Sarah Knecht and all my Assets for a flurry of cooking, tablescaping and photo shooting that ended in a prime rib dinner under the stars. (Photos and details to come on that adventure soon!) I went garage sailing for the first time all season.  I went to my grandfather's 80th birthday celebration in Portland and I made cookies with my daughter.  A little less work and a little more balance.


With this spectacular autumn we have been experiencing, I was inspired to sift through some family photos that Melanie Nashan, of Nashan Photographers did for us this time last year.  Life seemed so busy and it was a challenge to find the time to do this, however without Melanie's gentle encouragement, I would not have these treasures. {Thank you, Melanie!}  I love that we have these memories to reflect on.  I thought I would share them since they do give you a delightful peak at a Woodlands autumn with the glorious foliage and a peak at the people that make the Woodlands all that it is to you.  May your autumn be full of blessings and may you discover bountiful harvests in all your endeavors.

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