A Labor of Love....For Love and About Love

The 11th issue of Montana Bride is out and I could not be happier with this year's edition! 

As Montana’s premier wedding resource, we at Montana Bride have seen a lot of changes in styles and trends over the years, but one thing that has remained constant is Montana’s beauty and diversity as a wedding destination.  After a decade of traveling the state, meeting vendors, exploring secluded corners, and planning weddings, we still find ourselves in awe.  Although the state is renowned for its scenic vistas, Montana offers a big, bold personality, sculpted by the self-reliance necessary to living generation after generation in the vast Rocky Mountains and wind-swept prairies.  Century-old barns dot the landscape, some barely standing, while others still serve their original purpose.  Fortunately, many have been lovingly restored and now serve a new purpose befitting their beauty: hosting celebrations.  In towns and cities large and small, historic hotels still stand proud, welcoming new generations to contribute to their history.  Montana’s a beautiful place, but its true personality is revealed in every layer.

Montana offers a stunning backdrop for any wedding, rustic to elegant, but it also offers your guests and family a place to share new experiences.  The state boasts ghost towns to explore, pristine rivers to fish and raft, mountain trails to hike and ride horses, and two of the nation’s most majestic national parks. 

So congratulations on your upcoming wedding.  We know you’re going to love having a Montana wedding, and we are as excited to share its inspiration with you in this edition of Montana Bride as we were in our first edition eleven years ago. 

The 2012 Montana Bride Planner is currently avaialable at Avant Bridal, Alara, Montana Party Rentals, Nove Cafe, Gem Gallery, Plume, Eskay, HeyDay, and Bozeman & Missoula Airports.  We will have free copies available at other fine wedding vendors and retailers in the near future. Our online version will be available the first week of March.

iPhone...iDo! ... Yellowstone 1

I have lived in Montana for twenty years and have always wanted to visit Yellowstone by snowcoach.  So this year to celebrate the next chapter of a very dear friend's adventure in life, we loaded up the family and joined him on a snowcoach tour of Yellowstone!  It was everything I always imagined it would be.  But for me there always those hidden gems that make things even more special! 

There were plenty of gems on this trip (watch for future blog posts), but the standout for me had to be Ranger Rita Garcia at Old Faithful.  Whether she was herding guests away from the bison, or answering questions and offering information, Ranger Rita did so with an incredibley upbeat and cheerful demeanor.  But it was her seemingly overflowing enthusiasm for her job and obvious love for Yellowstone made my stop at Old Faithful the real highlight of the trip for me.  Old Faithful, wrapped in steam, was gorgeous, but it was Ranger Rita that really inspired me.  How fabulous to have to the opportunity to meet such a wonderful woman who takes so much joy in her surroundings and her job, and shares it so willingly and with such a positive attitude.  So 2 Thumbs up for Ranger Rita...thanks for making my dream trip to Yellowstone such a wonderful experience and for leaving me inspired to approach each day with such joy and enthusiasm! 



iPhone...iDo is a series on inspirational moments, places, and people captured on the iPhone of Montana event designer and florist, Katalin Green.

More information on this trip

Snowcoach Trip booked thru Yellowstone Alpen Guides  (we give them 5 stars...excellent)

Our guide was Alice and we highly recommend her!

iPhone....iDo

Siri....how do I capture inspiration?

I love my iPhone and one of the things I love the most is the ability to snap great pictures of inspring things, moments, and people.  I can catalog them, email them, send to facebook or pinterest and share them with you through this blog.  So welcome to iPhone....iDo!

For my first post....my tunbleweed!  If you live in Montana, you've probably seen the tumbling tumbleweed rolling across open spaces.  Well I chased a few down and brought them home with me.  Though I had an objective when I collected them, they ended up hanging in my studio waiting for a free minute when they could be transformed.  But in a way by not being transformed, they have transformed from the original objective.  In thier tumbleweed form, they are a constant reminder of the potential that inspiration holds.  By not changing them, they represent the open-ended, the many paths that can be taken to different ends.  In that, they serve as a source of contant inpiration.  I am able to rethink them on daily basis. So maybe they will become something else and maybe they will just stay tumbleweeds, but either way, they are really so much more!