Highlighting the natural beauty of Montana in our couples’ weddings is our specialty! Our wonderful clients typically choose to get married in Montana because they are nature lovers and want to be surrounded by the mountains as they tie the knot. Maggie and Matt definitely fell into this category, but they also decided to have their colorful wildflower wedding in Montana because Montana played a pivotal role in their relationship! So it only made sense for them to have an intimate wedding at Great Northern Resort on a gorgeous summer day near Glacier National Park.
Their wildflower wedding is seriously what summer wedding dreams are made of! We had so much fun playing with bright and vivid colors for this celebration. Keep on reading to find out how we achieved such a colorful and joyful aesthetic for Maggie and Matt’s wildflower wedding, and how you can too!
Before the Wildflower Wedding:
From the moment when Maggie and Matt got engaged, they knew they wanted to have an intimate, destination wedding in Montana. But after a longer than expected engagement due to the pandemic and many outside opinions, they actually started planning a much different wedding. They considered having a larger celebration in the city, complete with all the fanfare that comes with traditional weddings. However, shortly after they started planning this type of wedding, they realized how stressed they were and that they weren’t having fun with it.
That’s when they did something really smart and intentionally took inventory of their feelings and wedding vision. They sat down and asked themselves these questions:
-What kind of wedding did they truly want to have?
-What did they want to remember from their wedding day after it was over?
-What was actually important to them?
After being honest with themselves, they realized that they wanted to go back to their original wedding vision of a smaller, colorful wildflower wedding in Montana. That’s when Maggie and Matt came to us here at An Epic Elopement, and we couldn’t be more glad that they did!
Colorful Wildflower Wedding Decor:
When we were first planning Maggie and Matt’s wedding, they expressed that they really wanted to zero in on the things they loved most about Montana. They admired Montana’s natural beauty so much that they wanted to highlight that in their wedding décor. In Maggie’s words, they “wanted the table setup and flowers to feel like an extension of all of the beautiful natural elements in the mountain clearing.” So that’s what we did!
Their wildflower wedding color palette consisted of bright pink, yellow, orange, and periwinkle. You can definitely see these in Maggie’s stunning bridal bouquet, which was the absolute perfect mix of all of these hues! It also had a beautiful blend of bigger blooms and tiny wildflowers. Just looking at the bouquet brought us instant joy!
The bouquet complemented the reception décor perfectly as well! Great Northern Resort has a gorgeous outdoor reception area in a meadow with a canvas tent nearby. It’s made for an intimate wedding! We set a long wooden table to seat 14 in this space with matching wooden chairs. We placed an ivory gauze runner down the middle of the table and scattered various amber bud vases and candles along it.
Each place setting had gold flatware, classic white china, an amber goblet, and crystal glassware. We also draped a periwinkle napkin beneath each plate, so that it created a “waterfall” over the edge of the table. As a finishing touch, we set a delicate, handmade place card at each place setting with every individual guest’s name on it.
We worked really hard to ensure that Maggie and Matt’s colorful wildflower wedding vision came to life! It can be tricky to seamlessly infuse various bright colors without distracting the eye or making the design look too busy. But after years of experience and a love for event design, we have definitely become experts at it!
Maggie & Matt’s Big Day:
On the morning of Maggie and Matt’s wildflower wedding, we picked up the floral and wedding cake on our way to Great Northern Resort. Once we arrived, we started the setup and checked in our lovely soon-to-be newlyweds.
Maggie was the most exquisite bride! Her bridal look was soft, romantic, and ethereal, which went well with her Montana wedding vision! Her wedding dress had long sleeves with a slight puff at the shoulder. It had a lace print all over it and a short train. Maggie also wore ivory kitten heels and had her hair swept up in a wispy chignon. She looked completely angelic!
Her look corresponded well with Matt’s too! He wore a blue suit that had some texture to it, and he complemented it with a periwinkle tie and his colorful boutonniere.
After they were both dressed and ready, we staged Maggie in the canvas tent, so nobody could see her until it was time for the ceremony. We got the officiant, Matt, and his parents into place at the top of the aisle, cued the music, and then the ceremony began!
The I Do’s:
The processional began with Matt escorting his parents down the aisle to “First Love” by Bailey’s Nervous Cats. When he made it to the altar in the lush green meadow, all eyes drifted back up the aisle to see Maggie’s grand entrance. As she walked in, she had eyes only for Matt and she had the biggest smile on her face. Later, she would tell us that this was her favorite moment of the entire day because she was just overwhelmed with happiness and excitement.
During the ceremony, Maggie and Matt planned to hold a ring warming ceremony. This meant that their wedding rings were placed in a small bag and passed around to each guest in attendance. When it was a guest’s turn, he/she would hold the rings, wish the couple well, and pray over them. This ceremony acts as a symbol of unity, not just of the couple, but of the entire family.
Following this, the couple exchanged personalized vows. Not long after that, they were married!
An Intimate & Joyful Celebration:
While the newlyweds reveled in the fact that they were officially married, we repurposed the ceremony chairs to the reception site. We also did a final check to ensure that everything was set and ready, including the cake inside the canvas tent. We had set it up on a small wooden table with an ivory runner that matched the main dining table’s runner. The cake itself was a one tier naked cake, and we placed small wildflowers on it to give it beautiful pops of color. We also set a gold cake knife set, amber bud vases, and gold mercury votives on the table.
Once everything was perfect, the reception celebration started. The newlyweds and their guests shared an intimate, family-style dinner. They laughed throughout the entire meal and you could see on everyone’s faces that they were relaxed, happy, and enjoying themselves.
After toasts were made and Maggie and Matt cut their cake, their wildflower wedding drew to a close. Then, the newlyweds took off with their photographer to go to Glacier National Park for adventure photos. Just a 10 minute drive from Great Northern Resort, they were able to conclude their wedding day in the most magical way: exploring the mountainside and lakes in the golden hour light.
A Word from Katie:
“Congratulations Maggie & Matt! You two were completely wonderful to work with and I couldn’t be happier that you got to have your dream day! Your wildflower wedding was truly spectacular and one I will never forget! Best wishes to you both in your future together!”
-Katie
Venue // Great Northern Resort
Planner // An Epic Elopement
Photographer // Kelly Kirksey Photography
Caterer // Oso Catering
Baker // Miss Patti Cakes
Florist // Flathead Farmworks
Rentals // Empress Tents & Events
Officiant // Celebrant Sarah
Hair & Makeup // Melanie Hobus
Linen // BBJ Linen
Place Cards // Two Peas Paper Co
Let's Plan Your Wildflower Wedding!
Based in Kalispell, Montana, An Epic Elopement specializes in all-inclusive elopements, micro-weddings, and intimate weddings. Here, you get the full experience of having a traditional wedding, but with a little more adventure included!
Are you ready to start your elopement journey? Send me a note describing your elopement vision and let’s make it happen!