{Montana Bride Featured Wedding} Erin + Mark

I was born in Florida with big dreams of dancing in New York. Mark was a native New Yorker with dreams of playing Rock n Roll. We met at crossroads in our lives in New York 8 years ago. After four years, I decided to retire from dancing & pursue jewelry full-time. My family had moved to Montana, and I decided to go back to school for Metalsmithing & small business at MSU. Mark asked me to marry him on a rock by the Yellowstone River shortly after I moved here.  The following summer, he left New York and joined me in the Montana adventure.

Our wedding was at The Broken Hart Ranch, and it was naturally a Montana / New York theme.  The venue had a handmade wooden chapel held together with metal hearts, a burlap aisle runner lined with rose petals, and a hand painted vintage table as an altar.  Our mothers presented the rings, which I made with gold donated from our families, and the center diamond in my ring is from my mother’s engagement ring.  We wrote our own vows, both referencing Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, a song close to both of us.

I wore a Justin Alexander strapless ivory lace gown with gold & silver accents and a beaded belt which had a vintage feel. The groomsmen wore bolo ties made from vintage beer cans, brass and amazonite. The caps of the laces were bullet shells from a day Mark & I spent shooting. The Bridesmaids wore gold necklaces with different gemstone beads as well as a common amazonite bead to match the groomsmen.

Our flowers were displayed in handmade porcelain vases. There were also ceramic long horns decorating the bar which served our signature cocktails, huckleberry lemonade & watermelon gin fizz. I molded & cast over 100 Bronze ‘New York subway tokens’ as drink tokens. Sticking with the MT theme, we served smoked trout, elk sliders and bison meatballs as hors d’oeuvres, and Montana threw in her own special touch, a beautiful double rainbow. Following dinner (a whole roasted pig) and an assortment of amazing desserts built around a lemon thyme vanilla cake with ginger-honey butter cream frosting, DJ Missy O‘ Malley kept the dance floor crowded. She started the evening with classic love songs, followed by some rock favorites for the late night dance party.  Her last song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” was an unexpected surprise and brought our evening full circle

Photography by Jennie Lynn Photography 
Venue: Hart Ranch Weddings
Desserts: Whipped
Bar: Zebra Cocktail Lounge

Flowers by: Tara Erickson

Pottery by: Terri Harper

Dress by: Justin Alexander/ Avant Bridal
DJ: Missy O'Malley
Bolos & Jewelry by: Erin Levy
Wedding Planner: Last Best Weddings