Nelli Boone

Home sweet home: Erin and Cam's wedding...

2010-07-22

I have been very excited about this blog post... probably the most exciting post I've had.  Here is why: 
Every summer Jesse tries to get at least 1 wedding in Montana for us to shoot.  He will have a listing on google directed at brides in Montana, that way, when we do get hired for a wedding, we will plan a family trip around that date.  You see, both me and Jesse grew up in Montana.  In fact Jesse was born there, and I moved there when I was 6 months old.   We both lived in the same little towns our whole life, until we went to college, and then we moved to the town of Missoula, MT and then got married.  We lived there a few years after we got married, and moved to Ohio and started Finest Moments.  So getting a wedding in MT is a great way to get us home in the summer. 

Jesse got Erin's call in September of 2009.  She was living in Wyoming, so we never ended up meeting her.  She hired us, and then it was time to get all the details.  First Jesse asked where her wedding was.  A lot of the weddings we get in Montana are in the town of Missoula, or Butte.  Both are one of the biggest towns in MT.  But she said she was getting married in Stevensville.... 
"Stevensville?!  That is the town that Nelli grew up in," Jesse told Erin.  (This is a very small town about 30 miles outside of Missoula.)
"And what is the address of the ceremony and reception?" Jesse asked.
"It is just outside of Stevensville, kind of out in the country.  On a long dirt road called Tripp Lane, " Erin explained.

Ok... now let me stop this story here.  I grew up in Stevensville.  The long dirt road I lived on WAS also Tripp Lane! 
So it turns out that the ceremony and reception site was just 1/2 mile down the dirt road from the house that I grew up in.  In fact, my parents still live there, and when we go back to Montana to visit, we always stay there. It was to be in a field by a creek, the same creek that I would swim in as a kid!  And to make it even more ironic, the artistic photos were to be at the top of a hill where you can see the whole Bitteroot Valley and Rocky Mountains, all the way from Idaho clear into Missoula.  It is a piece of property that me and Jesse always ride the four-wheeler to, and gaze at the beauty of the mountains.
What a coincidence-  We would be shooting the wedding practically walking distance from my home! 

Now, the reason that I had never met Erin growing up, is because she didn't live there all year.  Her dad built a log cabin right on the creek about 30 years ago, so they actually lived in Eastern Montana and would only come to the cabin in the summer for a few weeks. 
I had been looking forward to shooting this wedding all year.  And when the day finally arrived, it was amazing.  So much planning and thoughtfulness went into this wedding.  They had cleared out a huge field in order to have the ceremony and reception there, right in front of the creek.  They built the dance floor out of tall logs and hung lights all above.  They had hay bails set out as seats and even a few handmade log benches.
We arrived in Stevensville about a week before the wedding.  Each day we would see more things being built(like the awesome dance floor) and saw as the big white tent was raised. 

Here is the Erin and Cam's wedding... I think one of the most special weddings I have ever shot.
 

I got pretty excited that we got to hang her dress outside in the tree!  We've never done that before.

Here is her detail shots on the carriage that took her from her house down to the ceremony site.  She wore the same pearl necklace that her mother and grandmother wore at their wedding.

Right as we got there, the cake had toppled over from the heat!  But fortunately, they were able to call the bakery and have another one made up.  As I was editing these, Josiah my 2 year old son was very interested in these pictures.  He kept saying, "uh-oh...  what happened!" And would want me to show him this picture over and over!

This is Erin and her sister and mom helping her get ready.  They all had such a strong love for eachother.

I should mention also that Jesse took most of these photo's.  I was only his assistant this day, Jesse was the main photographer, but we both did the editing.  I think this is a very dramatic shot of Cam.

And I must say that I think Jesse is getting pretty good at the tilt-shift lens!

Oh ya, I forgot to mention that she had a really awesome veil.

I love this shot Jesse took of Cam... wow.

I think that they picked the perfect spot to have the ceremony.  Under a tree so you don't have harsh sun, and the sun was low enough to get a sun flare.

My fav of the day...  She is so cute!

So here is Jesse pulling out his tilt-shift lens in the ceremony.  He is pretty daring, but it pays off!  What a great shot he got.

So after the ceremony I was super excited about the kiss shot I got.  I told Jesse, and he right away was telling me that he was super excited about his kiss shot.  Mine is the one on the left, his on the right. 

Even the horses are posing!

This is the cabin that her dad built!

After dinner, we took them up to the top of the hill to do some artistic shots.  The sun was painting the sky so pretty.  They drove in his dad's old jeep, and we took my dad's old truck to use as props. 

Jesse took all these night shots and processed them for me.  I really think they turned out pretty!

So romantic :)

Erin and Cam, you guys have such fun personalities! 

And I love this last shot.  They had one last dance.  I saw how Erin just grabbed hold of Cams waist and hugged on to him so tight.  They were truly in love.  I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of this wedding.  I really believe it was meant to be. 

 

Tags: Finest Moments Wedding Photography