February 23, 2024

Whitefish Theatre Company’s production of Stephen King’s “Misery”

The latest production I've had the pleasure of photographing for Whitefish Theatre Company is William Goldman's "Misery" based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. It features one of the most elaborate sets I've seen the crew at WTC put together with a super tight cast of three. Get your tickets!

February 21, 2024

Whitefish Engagement Portrait Photographer, Gabrielle & Christian

Gabrielle and Christian had two prerequisites for their engagement session. They wanted to include their dogs, and as winter sports enthusiasts they wanted it to be snowy.

Including the dogs was the easy part, but the snow was not so much. This winter has been so strange—and more like spring than winter for most of it if we're being honest—so we kept pushing the session date. Thankfully, Mother Nature finally delivered with almost a week straight of snow, and temperatures low enough to where it stayed pretty and didn't turn to slush. We also lucked out by avoiding the weekend when it was -28 degrees. However, we still dealt with single-digit temps as it was.

I cannot wait for these to get married next fall at Star Meadows Ranch!

February 16, 2024

Whitefish City Beach Senior Portraits Plus Bonus Family Photos

The real impetus for the Sarailles family reaching out to me was senior portraits for their son because the due date for the yearbook was coming up. Hey, it happens to the best of us. So that was the main goal, and Mother Nature blessed Whitefish with a fresh layer of fluffy snow the day before so pushing the session to the last minute was ultimately the right call.

After wrapping up those we went ahead and knocked out some quick, updated family photos and called it a day!

December 10, 2023

Whitefish Family Photographer, Morrison-Walrath Families

I've been fortunate to work with Betsi, Luke, and their twins Gabriel and Elijah several times, but never for some laid-back family portraits. It's always been theatre performances and studio headshots.

Betsi's brother and his family were in town over the Thanksgiving holiday and I was able to make time for some quick portraits. It was so much fun meeting the whole family and documenting the occasion of everyone being in one place at one time.

December 4, 2023

Whitefish Theatre Co.’s Production of “A Christmas Carol the Musical”

Who knew Ebenezer Scrooge can sing?! Apparently whoever wrote the musical version of "A Christmas Carol" I suppose. This was a real joy to watch—more than photographing it because Ebenezer himself was out of commission for rehearsal—and featured so many of my favorite faces from past WTC productions as well as younger actors I've photographed in Alpine Theatre Project productions.

November 24, 2023

Fall Wedding at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, Dakota & Quinn

I've said it before and I'll probably say it evermore, but it takes a hearty, self-assured couple to choose a Fall wedding in Northwest Montana. I firmly believe it is the most beautiful time of year here, but is also the time with the most fickle weather imaginable. And it will often be cold and rainy.

That was certainly the case for Dakota and Quinn at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake this November. The reception and accompanying dance party were naturally held in one of the ballrooms, and there was a secondary ceremony location set up in another ballroom as a plan B, but these snowboarding enthusiasts had no intention of holding the ceremony inside. Plan A was the only option for these two, out on the pavilion platform with Whitefish Lake in the background. I only call out the snowboarding detail because these two were my third couple this year who snowboard, and went full-send on holding the ceremony outside no matter the weather. And I am here for it.

Venue and Catering: The Lodge at Whitefish Lake / Planning, Coordination, and Florals: Hawthorne House / Bakery: Bakes and Cakes by Brie / DJ: Sidecar Audio / Photobooth: Pixelated Gigs / Videography: Treasure State Entertainment / Second Photographer: Porsche Jean Photography

November 3, 2023

Whitefish Wedding Photographer, Christopher & Nick’s Backyard Wedding

Christoper and Nick were another couple I was fortunate to meet at the My Montana Wedding Expo back in January. They approached my booth with a unique request. They were planning an evening, outdoor wedding. Their timeline guaranteed that artificial light would be needed so they needed to see how comfortable I was working with artificial lighting. Great news, I'm super comfortable with it, it's something I don't get to do as often as I'd like because we get so many hours of daylight here during the summer months—not that I'm complaining—so I was all in.

The wedding was happening in Christopher's parents' backyard, it was planned by family members, and the food was prepared by the families, it couldn't have been more intimate.

Bakery: Ephemera Confections / Couture: Rococo Bridal & Formal Wear / Rentals & Decor: Celebrate Event & Party Rental / Second Photographer: Porsche Jean Photography

October 26, 2023

Whitefish Wedding Photographer, Emily & Kyle at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake

Montana's Fall weather is rivaled only by Spring weather in terms of unpredictability. What you can bet on, is it will be either beautiful, or sloppy (whether that means cold, rainy, snowing, or all of the above.) Emily and Kyle were blessed with the latter, without the snow. It rained a good majority of the evening but gave us enough of a break for some lovely portraits before the wedding after a first look on the dock.

Venue & Catering: The Lodge at Whitefish Lake / Bakery: Ephemera Confection / Couture: The White Dress / DJ: Sidecar Audio / Florals: Elevate Amenities / Rentals & Decor: Celebrate Event & Party Rentals

October 20, 2023

Whitefish Theatre Co.’s production of “Lost in Yonkers”

Whitefish Theatre Company's first full theatre production for this 2023-2024 season was Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers." This production, it also marked my third season working with the crew at WTC and it's always a blast, even if the material my not be... celebratory. To put it lightly.

October 6, 2023

Whitefish Wedding Photographer, Haley & Evan at The Homestead

A friend I met through volunteering with the Whitefish School District—who happened to also grow up in Austin and graduate from the same High School my brother did—put me in touch with the DeVore family who have their own Texas ties. The oldest DeVore daughter would be getting married and they were looking for a photographer.

This friend was doing some initial wedding planning help before they had brought on wedding planner extraordinaire SG Weddings and Events and her team and once the ball got rolling she assembled just a stellar team of wedding vendors. The day was absolutely beautiful with fluffy white clouds in a blue sky, and maybe just a little too hot for us wedding vendors but almost chilly to the guests from the Lone Star State.

Venue: The Homestead / Planning and Florals: SG Weddings & Events / Bakery: Montana Wildflour / Bar Services: Spinnaker / Catering: The Kopper Kitchen / DJ: Big Mountain DJs / Hair & Makeup: Shayna Beauty & Sieh Beauty / Rentals & Decor: Barndoor Event Rentals / Transportation: MT Party Bus / Videography: Skeeter Johnston Productions / Wedding Content Creator: Keep Candid / Second Photographer: Porsche Jean Photography

Prints & Canvas

Matt Wetzler is an editorial, motorsport, portrait, and destination wedding photographer based in Whitefish, Montana.

Copyright ©Matthew Wetzler 2008–2024