A Smile Like Sunshine | Reeder’s Alley Wedding | Helena, MT

One of our favorite states to photograph weddings in is Montana. The views are gorgeous, the weather is dry and warm, and the tones and colors of the land surrounding us are so different from our typical Seattle and Snohomish weddings.

When Amy and Jay booked with us, I knew they’d be a perfect match for our warm, outdoorsy style. Their engagement session was a dream – the perfect September evening. I knew their wedding almost exactly a year later would be no less.

Filled with pops of yellow sunflowers (and shoes!), deep blue accents, and one of the most amazing, heart lead ceremonies we’ve seen to date, their love and story together filled this day. Jay’s reaction to seeing Amy come down the Alley-aisle was perfection – his hand rushed to his mouth in awe, and there wasn’t a dry eye left when he met her at the entrance of the Reeder’s Alley courtyard in Helena to walk together towards the ceremony site.

Their reception took us to the Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds in Helena, and you’ll see even more amazing details there – and we also experienced our first ever reception square dance! Check it all out below and don’t forget to leave them some comment love.

The proposal story (according to Amy):

On 12/22 Amy came home from a rough day at work, arms filled with shopping bags. As she closed the door to the winter cold she noticed Jay’s strange face watching her. She said, “what’s wrong with your face?” as she turned to close the door, upon turning back around he was on one knee with a ring in his hands. She screamed an expletive F$*% and dropped all the bags. Quickly followed by Jay asking, is that a yes? After which came the biggest and best hug in the world and lots of kisses 🙂

How did the two of you meet?

Jay and Amy were friends throughout high school, who had cruses on each other throughout. After hs, they each went their own ways only to be reunited years later on a cold night in their favorite local brewery the Blackfoot.

Is there anything special about your venue that is the reason you chose it?

We chose Reeder’s Alley because its an absolutely beautiful place steeped in MT history that is literally in our backyard. We both feel a connection to this place.

VENDOR TEAM

Ceremony Venue: Reeder’s Alley

Reception Venue: Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds

Hairstylist: Megan Ries

Floral: WestMont

Musicians: Lochwood Bluegrass (feat. Bev Young as caller)

Baker: Van’s Bakery

Bartender’s/Servers: B&B Market

Decor/Invitations: DIY

Officiant: Michael Willing

Wedding Apparel: Rent the Runway, Linda’s Bridal and Mr. Tux

Catering: Mountain Thyme Catering

Meet your photographers.

We’re Kate (she/her) and Josh (he/him). Married humans, emotional chaos wranglers, coffee worshippers, timeline nerds, Marvel fanatics, and occasional ugly criers at weddings. (Okay, maybe more than occasional. Look, vows get us. Every damn time.) Kate has been photographing since 1997 and Josh picked up the camera in 2011. We’ve done over 600 weddings together, including wedding coordination (sometimes we even get to do both at the same time!) 600+ weddings → “That’s 600 families who trusted us to be invisible magic and backup problem-solvers.” 14 years → “We’ve seen it all — and we know how to handle anything without making it your problem.” Coordination → Kate is also a certified coordinator which gives that extra boost for you during planning and on the day itself “We don’t just photograph your day — we keep it flowing, calm, and meaningful.”

Schedule a meeting

if you’re ready to just sit down and chat with us, we totally understand! You can schedule a meeting time below, but just know that we will cancel the meeting if we are unavailable for your date.