Spotlight on: MONTANA, USA

If the holiday season and snowfall has left you inspired for a wedding of sleighbells, ski slopes and snowflakes or if you desire sunshine and nature in its purest form without all the crowds of Colorado and Utah, then you will love Montana. Snowy mountain peaks or fields of green – rustic beauty at its finest.

With two mountain ranges and over 130 named lakes, Glacier National Park is a wonderful location for a Montana wedding. Close to Glacier you will find The Resort at Paws Up, a resort that can accommodate brides and grooms of every style from those that want to be more adventurous in a luxe tent to those that want full on rustic luxury at the upscale Wilderness Estates. http://www.pawsup.com/resort/index.php

Big Sky is breathtaking and just 19 miles from Yellowstone National Park . It has tons of rustic lodges, barns or private estates for wedding venues. A great location in Big Sky is Big EZ lodge. Check it out: http://www.bigezlodge.com/

Or you could go to Livingstone, a town filled with western charm with a population of 7000 and also where “A River Runs Through It” was filmed. If you are looking to find a location where you and all of your wedding party, family and guests could stay in charming rustic cabins, then take a look at Chico Hot Springs Resort. http://www.chicohotsprings.com/

There are a few really amazing photographers out in Montana – in fact two of my personal favourites reside there: Mery Donald (see photo above) and Melanie Nashan. Their individual styles take advantage of the natural surroundings; the photos are beautiful and very publishable for all of those brides–to-be who want to see themselves in a bridal magazine a year after the big day.

Melanie Nashan: http://www.nashan.com/

Mery Donald: http://www.merydonald.com/

Finally, I just want to encourage you to take just one look at Montana – I dare you not to be inspired by Mother Nature and the beauty of the American landscape.