A few weeks ago, Sammy and James got to zip on over this direction from Manhattan (the New York kind) for their Missoula Montana springtime engagement session, and I’m so glad Montana decided to play nicely and treat them to a beautiful evening in town since we had a pretty rainy springtime this year. Sammy is originally from Missoula, and she and James currently live in NYC.

When I asked them how they met, they both happened to be at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and the rest is history. James proposed to her on the Tower Bridge in London, and, as it turns out, it seems that bridges are kind of a theme for them. We started out their session on the new pedestrian bridge over the south side of Reserve Street, for which Sammy’s dad did structural engineering work. (They fondly refer to it as “Dad’s Bridge.”)

It was such a beautiful evening – gorgeous light, fantastic views (which James was really happy to see since the last time he visited the mountains were rendered invisible due to all the wildfire smoke in the air), and these two are just so, so in love, which is always so fun to see and document.

Even despite being eaten alive by gangs of gnarly, carnivorous mosquitos, Sammy and James didn’t let that bother them one bit. They were all about the hugs, the kisses, the soft shoulder caresses – and it was absolutely, perfectly beautiful.

Sammy and James, it was so nice to meet you both and have the opportunity to make these images for you (seriously, you guys are so darn sweet together!), and I’m so glad that Missoula treated you to a splendid week here! And, last but not least, here’s another huge congratulations to you on your engagement!

On the Docket:

Weddings, elopements and portraits! Don’t miss ’em!

Cheers,

-Kristine

As has been the theme in my recent posts, it has been a damp, damp spring in Montana. Which I’m a fan of, don’t get me wrong – if we can keep the green a bit longer and avoid fire season then I’m all for it. But it also means that scheduling sessions has required some creativity, probably a little bit of hand-wringing, and perhaps some subtle (or not so subtle) murmuring to the radar on my weather app to “just push the storm over that way a little, pretty pretty please!” Thankfully that pleading with my weather app worked (well, we’ll pretend it did anyway) for Andrea and Mike’s spring engagement session in the Missoula hills. It had been pouring right up until a bit before we started our session, so I was pretty darn thankful we didn’t need to pull out the galoshes!

And it was a gorgeous session with these two! The hills were lush, clouds hung in fluffy strips across the blue of the mountains, and the arrowleaf baslamroot wildflowers were out en force. Not to mention, Andrea and Mike were such a pleasure to photograph. (I think Mike wins the award for “opera-singing” along with me – we truly had a “Sound of Music” moment for a second there!) Two bears even wandered through our shoot location (of course, right before I arrived)!

Andrea and Mike were so gung ho about everything and braved the wet grass and chilly temps, all the while grinning and laughing with one another as we frolicked (there was indeed some frolicking!!) in the fields. I’m especially happy that we also hit wildflower time right on the nose since Andrea had been hoping for them to make an appearance in their engagement photos. They actually live in New Mexico currently, but Montana holds a special place for them since Andrea visited her uncle’s cabin on Flathead Lake every summer growing up. (And that’s where they’ll be getting married this summer!)

Andrea and Mike! Thanks again for such a fun session and for being flexible with our crazy weather! (So glad it didn’t snow on us! Egads!) It was so good to finally meet you both in person and see just how much fun you have with one another. I can’t wait for your wedding day this summer (hopefully with a little warmer weather, too!).

On the docket:

portraits and weddings! Don’t miss out!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I have secretly always wanted to photograph a session at the legendary Rock Creek of Montana since I absolutely love camping that direction (and one of these days I want to learn how to fish it!). So when Katie and Anthony mentioned that they’d like a Rock Creek Montana engagement session, ooooooh boy! I was excited. Not only because of my aforementioned secret wish, but because I knew I’d have such a blast with these two. And we totally did.

After what felt like days and days of rain, we somehow managed to luck into a dry spell (even though it was a fairly chilly day!), and had such a great time checking out the creek and surrounding area.

Katie and Anthony were so much fun to photograph, and it’s just so sweet to see how much they love one another. They are such a perfect fit, and to see how they look at each other, how they steal glances here and there, how tenderly they hold one another….well, it’s enough to make me all floopy. (That’s a technical term there for melty…which is a technical term for “ohmygoshIlovethesetwo.”)

Suffice it to say, it was pure perfection making their engagement photos, and I am SO excited for their upcoming wedding day this autumn!

Katie and Anthony! Thank you again for being such a treat to work with (I, no surprise, had a perma-grin post-session!). SUCH good times! And I can’t wait for many, many more come September!!

On the docket: After this Rock Creek Montana Engagement session, keep an eye out for weddings and portraits….and weddings and more portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine