Ben & Haley - Elopement - Pray Lake, Glacier National Park, MT

I met Ben & Haley at their vacation rental in Essex, Montana. If you don’t know where Essex is, it’s a community nestled back in the forest between the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park. It’s the perfect place for a first look and as you can see in these photos fall has started to kiss the mountains a little bit early. Depending on how the light hits these mountains, they look different every single day. Ben & Haley chose to seal their vows and express their commitment to each other in front of Pray Lake. It boasts of some ginormous mountains surrounding it although the lake itself is quite shallow. Sally of Marry Me in Montana did a great job officiating this time. It’s also fun to see her! . I loved getting to know Ben & Haley a little more, hearing of their adventures together, and house they are working on building! It was a splendid evening. Cheers!

Derek & May - Glacier National Park, Montana Elopement

Derek and May met at a friend’s birthday party. They said they didn’t talk to each other much then, but 6 months later they ended up running into each other at the grocery store and then they happened to move into the same apartment complex. Derek asked May out and the rest is history.

I met Derek and May in West Glacier. I definitely was bringing my umbrellas on this trip, but as I tell people about Montana, “If you don’t like the weather wait 15 minutes and it will change.” We ended up with a beautiful dramatic sky for Derek and May’s vow exchange and a great view of the mountains. We ventured down the park exploring the forests and Lake McDonald.

I loved getting to know Derek and May a little more and wish you guys the best times together!

~Joanna

Matt & Emily - Glacier National Park, Montana

When Emily reached out to me, I was super sad because as she was telling me about her intimate wedding and it sounded incredible; but I was already booked. Thankfully, she was able to work around her date and I’m so glad she did because this was such an adventurous, nature-filled wedding.

We started out the day in Whitefish actually where Matt and Emily had their first look. From there we all caravaned to Many Glacier. It is hard to choose one spot in Glacier where I can pinpoint it down and say, “this is my favorite.” But, if I had to, Many Glacier would be at the top of the list. I had so much fun exchanging hiking stories gone wrong on the drive up. And…we saw a black bear on the drive up.

When we got to Many Glacier, we all boarded a boat across Swiftcurrent Lake. From there, we were dropped off on the shores of Lake Josephine. Emily had done a lot of research and found a place on google maps where she knew the view would be perfect and it was the perfect ceremony site. You will have to scroll down to find it.

Matt is a skilled woodworker and made his own vow box and wedding ring! Also, all of the guests had matching Glacier National Park cups (they even thought to give me one, still one of my favorite cups) and shared a toast of champagne after the wedding. And then the matching backpacks, these were fitting for the hike we embarked on afterward.

After their intimate ceremony, we wandered to our next destination - Grinnell Lake. The trail meanders through the woods and over a bridge that really does sway a lot! When we got to the lake, everyone was quite hot from the August day and a lot of people took a dip. It felt really refreshing!

Matt & Emily, I thoroughly enjoyed my day with you and hope you have a radically fun life together!

Josef & Laura ~ 5 years married ~ Glacier National Park, MT

When my friend Michelle of MEE Photography reached out to me wanting to partner together for a styled shoot in Glacier National Park, I was totally in. Basically, any excuse to wander up to Glacier, I’m in. Josef and Laura were celebrating 5 years of marriage together and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for an anniversary session. We headed out to the Hidden Lake trail at sunset to capture the sun dropping below the majestic mountains and saw some bighorn sheep that seemed quite ok with people. Laura, Josef, and I have known each other since we were kids ourselves. It has been amazing to watch them grow up and raise a family of their own. Here’s to many more years of happiness. By the way you should check out Laura’s photography work here. Michelle, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the rest of your exploring this great park!