Blog Archives - Thewmatt Photography

December 12, 2024

Leah & Ben’s summer wedding at Snowline Acres in Kalispell, MT

Leah and Ben's wedding at the beautiful Snowline Acres in Kalispell was a showcase of colors and big, big wedding parties. They have long ties to the area with family in Bigfork, so had been visiting the area for years. When they got engaged, it only made sense for them to choose a venue in the "last best place."

And when you've got large wedding parties, and a bunch of guests, there are few better venues than Snowline Acres to accommodate your wedding day dreams.

Venue: Snowline Acres / Planning & Coordination: Big Day Celebrations / Bakeries: Bakes & Cakes by Brie and Lake Baked / Bar Services: Lady Luck Hospitality / Catering: Cartwright Catering / Couture: Bridal Finery / DJ & Photobooth: RMF Entertainment / Florals: Flathead Farmworks / Hair & Makeup: Melanie Hobus / Rentals & Decor: Empress Tents & Events / Transportation: Montana Trolley Co. / Videography: Skeeter Johnston Productions

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Wedding

Tags: kalispell, Montana, Montana Wedding, snowline acres, Summer, Wedding

July 21, 2024

Christa & Ryan’s micro-wedding at Ashley Lake Estates in Montana

From my very first conversation with Christa, while it was obvious that she and Ryan would be officially blending their families in a wedding ceremony, the most important aspect of the afternoon would be spending such an occasion with their closest friends and family.

As such, when I arrived the vibe was much more like a fancy backyard barbecue than a wedding, and that was exactly what they had hoped for. Kids in the hot tub and fishing from a canoe on Ashley Lake, people playing piano in the living room, the buzz of excitement of a big, close-knit group of people enjoying each other's company.

After everyone got dried off and cleaned up there was a short and sweet ceremony closed out by Christa and Ryan leaving the ceremony to Guns'n'Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle," just about everyone cooling off by taking a plunge in the lake, and closed out by an amazing dinner.

Catering: Veritas Chef MT / Officiant: Raul Rodriguez with Best Day Officiants / Venue & Lodging: Ashley Lake Estates

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Wedding

Tags: Ashley Lake, Ashley Lake Estates, Micro-Wedding, Montana, Montana Wedding, Wedding

July 20, 2024

Apgar Village Wedding & Going-to-the-Sun Road Portraits for Emily & Sam

Exploring nature generally—and National Parks in particular—is a huge cornerstone of Email and Sam's relationship. While they lived in the Flathead Valley they would often camp and explore Glacier National Park. So Glacier was naturally at the very top of their list of locations they wanted to get married.

For the wedding day itself, they held the ceremony at the Apgar Amphitheater with Lake McDonald as the backdrop. After the ceremony, we traversed Going-to-the-Sun Road to stop at some of their favorite locations for portraits of just the two of them.

The following day, they held a reception with some of the more traditional wedding moments like first dances, a cake cutting, dinner, etc. at Haymoon Resort here in Whitefish.

Venues: Glacier National Park & Haymoon Resort / Couture: Brides for Cause / Jewelry: Jensen Jewlers / Associate Photographer (for Reception): Porsche Jean Photography

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Wedding

Tags: couples portraits, Glacier National Park, LGBTQ, Love is Love, Montana, Montana Wedding, Wedding

July 19, 2024

Surprise proposal on Saint Mary Lake, Glacier National Park

Much like the crew on the 1980s television show "The A-Team," I love it when a plan comes together. This past winter Kevin reached out to me with plans for a surprise proposal in Glacier National Park this summer. We hopped on a phone call—which is really the only way to talk about logistics in the park where there is no cell service—and made a plan for Sun Point on Saint Mary Lake on the East side.

I made sure to arrive plenty early and did my best to pretend to be a tourist snapping photos of the beautiful scenery. They arrived just as planned in the outfits Kevin told me to be looking for and he nailed the execution of the proposal and took her utterly by surprise, she was genuinely shocked and so happy.

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Couples Portraits, Portraits

Tags: couples portraits, Glacier National Park, Montana, Summer, surprise proposal

July 17, 2024

Maya and Brad’s East Glacier Park Lodge Wedding

Maya and Brad were visiting the area from Texas where they're actually both involved with several wedding bands. So while their wedding day was largely a DIY affair, they had the organization down pat ahead of time and everything planned out very well. One particularly fun touch—due to this background of being wedding vendors themselves—was at dinner time releasing the band for the buffet before anyone else. Since so many of the guests were also in wedding bands, the reception was made all the more unique by many of the guests joining the band to sing meaningful songs to/for the couple.

Maya and Brad were some of the sweetest people I've ever met, and it was such an honor to play my small part in celebrating them.

Venue, Catering, Lodging, Rentals, and Transportation: Glacier Park Lodge / Bakery: Miss Patti Cakes / Florals: Conrad Floral / Hair & Makeup: Bridal Bliss by Lana Golinsky

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Wedding

Tags: East Glacier, Glacier Park Lodge, Montana, Wedding

July 15, 2024

5th Anniversary Glacier National Park Portraits

I met Katie and Zach five years ago on their wedding day of all days. I had second-photographer duties for my friend Kiralee Jones. In the years since I've been fortunate to work with Katie on the board of the My Montana Wedding Association.

As their anniversary approached, Katie brought up the idea of doing a portrait session in Glacier National Park once Going-to-the-Sun Road opened to Logan Pass. Katie retrieved her wedding dress from the closet, had SG Weddings & Events recreate her wedding bouquet, Zach adorned a suit, and we drove up the road to take some epic anniversary portraits.

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Couples Portraits, Portraits

Tags: couples portraits, Glacier National Park, Montana, Portraits

July 14, 2024

Year two with chosen family friend group portraits in Whitefish

Last year I had the pleasure of working with Maggie and a large group of friends and their families here in Whitefish where they were staying together. Maggie has been visiting Whitefish since she was a child and had the opportunity to share the experience with her friends. Much to my good fortune, they all returned to the same location this year and I had the honor to document they're growing families once again!

We joked about them all being in the running for the largest 'family' group I have ever photographed and they're not quite there yet, but if we're able to go for year three in 2025 they will be!

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Family Photography, Portraits

Tags: Extended Family Portraits, family, family portraits, Montana, Portraits, Wedding, whitefish

July 13, 2024

Sarah & Andrew’s Backyard Wedding at the Foot of Whitefish Lake

Anyone at Sarah and Andrew's wedding at the foot of Whitefish Lake this past spring could tell you it was a day long in the making. Together for almost a decade, and already a beautiful family of four, they wanted to make it official in front of their closest friends and family.

Taking place in the backyard of a long-time family friend where Andrew had been saying he would get married since he was 10 years old, with the ultimate view of Big Mountain and Whitefish Mountain Resort, the day was absolutely perfect.

Planning & Coordination: Epic Events / Bar Services: Treasure State Hospitality / Catering: The Kopper Kitchen / Couture: NRT Fashion & Gentlemen 3 Menswear / Florals: Hawthorne House / Music: Golden Bell Music / Rentals & Decor: Celebrate Event & Party Rentals, Peak Audio

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Wedding

Tags: backyard wedding, Montana, Spring Wedding, Wedding, whitefish

July 12, 2024

West Kalispell Photographer, the Lewis Family

One of the coolest things I get to do as a family photographer is documenting extended families visiting the area for the first, fifth, or tenth time. As modern life takes family members and spreads them far and wide throughout the country and world it's so fun to share a couple of hours with them as they get to spend time together for the first time in a while.

The Lewis family was no different, and as you can no doubt see in the photos, they were a unique bunch of characters that kept the laughs coming through the whole session.

Published by Matthew Wetzler in Blog, Family Photography, Portraits

Tags: Extended Family Portraits, family, family portraits, kalispell, Montana, Portraits

July 10, 2024

Whitefish Wedding Photography, Krystal & Grant at Haymoon Resort

Krystal and Grant had a wonderfully intimate, largely DIY, spring wedding here in Whitefish at Haymoon Resort. They had a wonderful ceremony surrounded by family followed by some quick portraits around the property, first dances, and a lovely dinner. Everyone could not have been more kind and I was treated as if I was one of the guests.

Venue: Haymoon Resort / Hair & Makeup: Autumn Nielsen / Officiant: 406 Officiant