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The first time I met Courtney, I was hiding behind a chair.
Thomas had reached out to us the day before, through one of Courtney’s best friends, with a plan to propose at Sage Lodge the next morning. No time to overthink it, just get there and stay hidden. So I was tucked behind a chair, texting Thomas minutes out, watching Courtney have no idea her entire life was about to change a few feet away. When it happened, I actually teared up watching her react, she truly had no idea I was even there. You could tell immediately how enamored they were with each other, even in the small in-between moments. About a year later, their wedding planner and a good friend of ours, Flawless Events by Chels, reached out asking if we were free. The second we saw their names, it was an easy yes, and we got to help tell the next chapter of their story at their multi-day wedding at Yellowstone Valley Lodge in Paradise Valley, Montana, one year to the date from the proposal.
This was never going to be a single-day wedding, and we filmed almost every piece of it. The boys spent the morning golfing in Bozeman while the girls had a riverside picnic at Yellowstone Valley Lodge, then everyone got dressed for the rehearsal that evening, followed by a rehearsal dinner full of emotional speeches, including one from Thomas’s best friend, Jett Puckett, that was full of nothing but love for one of his closest friends. The whole weekend was a black-tie western event, full of black, white, and green designs that felt elegant without trying too hard. But the detail that really got us? The giant floral cloud they hung above the dance floor like a natural disco ball- it was awe-inspiring and something we have never seen before. Being there for the golfing, the picnic, the rehearsal, and the wedding day itself let us capture so much more of who they are together, not just the formal moments.
The wedding day itself sat on the grass at Yellowstone Valley Lodge, facing the mountains, with about as good a view as Paradise Valley has to offer. The rehearsal the night before got dumped on with rain, so there was nervous energy going into the day, especially since Courtney had buried a sausage, buried a statue, and hired an Etsy witch to guarantee good weather. It worked. The day stayed clear through the ceremony, and Courtney and Thomas exchanged private vows beforehand that were some of the most heartfelt we’ve filmed, a real testament to how they feel about each other. It started raining again after dinner, and then double rainbows stretched across the sky, right as the celebration was in full swing, giving us one of the most beautiful backdrops we’ve ever caught on camera.
The reception turned into a full-blown party the second RMF‘s saxophonist came bursting out of a closet like a magic trick, and the room completely lost it. From there, the dance floor never really cooled down, Thomas didn’t leave it once the entire night. It ended with a petal toss that sent Courtney and Thomas straight into their getaway car. Looking back, it’s hard not to think about the progression this wedding really impacted on us: a year earlier, I was hiding behind a chair on a random patio at Sage Lodge waiting for Thomas to surprise her, and a year later we were standing in Paradise Valley watching them celebrate their marriage surrounded by everyone they love. Getting trusted with both of those moments, the very beginning and this whole weekend, is exactly why this is one of the weddings that will stick with us as Montana wedding videographers for a long time.
Vendor Credits:
Planner: Flawless Events By Chels
Venue: Yellowstone Valley Lodge
Florist: Agile Goat Flower Farm
Photographer: Willett Photo
Hair/Makeup Artist: Ethereal Hair and Makeup
Dj + Saxophone: RMF Entertainment
Signage + Paper Goods: The Valley Girl Rentals
Rentals: Gallatin Event Rental
Cake: Blue Bird Sweets of MT
