Friday, July 30, 2010

Kendra + Nick, Rainbow Ranch, Big Sky, MT


 Kendra and Nick have worked with me since last fall planning their Big Sky Wedding at the Rainbow Ranch.  They were married on June 26th.  We could not showcase our work without the wonderful talent of Lauren Brown Photography.  Thank you so much for these beautiful images, Lauren! 

The color pallet and decor were spectacular.  To set the tone, each guest received an alternative wood veneer invitation designed by their good friend.  All of the other printed items were completed by Erin Leonard out of Virginia City, MT.  She does most of our graphic design and is magnificent to work with! There were surprises in store for the guests starting with a hand-made pine cone ornament for each guest to take home, to festive sparklers, and a late night campfire to keep everything in theme of the mountains. 

The bride asked for a romantic pallet that would go with teal...and wanted to keep everything very soft for the ceremony.  Natural materials were very important to Nick and Kendra, and pulling a bit of an alternative twist to the mountain environment.  We suggested adding a pop of orange to create more drama at the reception and make it a bit more lively!  I think we managed, and she loved everything! 

Ingredients for this perfect day:

Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events:  planners and flowers
Lauren Brown Photography: amazing imagery!!!
Rainbow Ranch Lodge: venue
Montana Party Rentals:  rental tent and extra chairs
Erin Elizabeth Leonard:  graphic design and printed materials
Blue Moon Bakery: wedding cake
Duke Sharp: ceremony music
Joe's Mobile DJ:  reception music and late night party
After 5 and Weddings:  suits

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Springhill Pavilion, a montana wedding venue




Here is the newlywed couple, Bill and Heather McCurdy! I couldn't be more thrilled to have met them. A thriving couple that make their home in Seattle, hired me late last year to plan the most intimate details of their June 19th, 2010 wedding...so many details to catch you up on...here is a wonderful slide show by their photographer Morgan Lamare:

Ingredients for their perfect day:

Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events, full event management, decor and flowers..
Morgan Lamare, photographer..
Springhill Pavilion, wedding venue..
Montana Epicurean, catering..
Story Mansion, rehearsal dinner location..
Montana Party Rentals, rentals..
Erin Leonard Graphic Design, invitations and printed items..
Kostas Lazardious, band..
Callisto Studios, video

FUN FACTS!!!
1. The veil is ‘Brussels Lace’ and was Heather's great grandmothers and it is over a hundred years old.
2. The Salmon was caught by Tom Sprague on the Columbia river, near the mouth of the Pacific ocean.
3. The watercolor on the invitation was painted by Heather's father, Daddy Don.
4. The orchids in the wedding are from Bill's “Aunt” Barbara Rudvalis who owns and runs an Orchid farm in San Diego (http://www.rudvalisorchids.com/about.htm). The deep plum orchids are from a plant specifically bred and named “William” to celebrate this wedding and the all pink orchids are named “Heather”.
5. Many of the flowers in Heather's bouquet are from her Grandmother's garden.
6. The song for the Father/Daughter dance “Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was chosen because when Heather first heard the song, she asked her Dad for some donuts, because she thought “Donuts” made her eyes blue.
7. The lead singer of the band, Kostas Lazarides, was the lead singer for Daddy Don & Momma Susie’s wedding in 1972.
8. Kostas Lazarides wrote the words to several songs sung by Dixie Chicks, Dwight Yoakum, the Mavericks, and many more. We included one of his songs on our Wedding CD: “Timber I’m Falling in Love” by Patty Loveless
9. Tiara Whitney (Bridal party) has 2 handsome sons, Max and Mahki, and Heather is their godmother.
10. The flower basket was Melanie McCurdy DeVinney’s (Bill’s sister) basket when she was a young girl.
11. The Ring Pillow was handmade by Norma Stewart, who is Heather’s grandmother Hannah's sister in law.
12. The silver hair jewelry was handmade by Heather Stewart.
13. The vows are based on a book that Heather and Bill found while staying over at Melanie McCurdy DeVinney’s house over Christmas. It was one that was purchased by Bill’s mom, Louise McCurdy. We have some of the vows from a page that she had marked off.
14. The celebrant, Dr. Duncan Earle, was Bill’s Anthropology professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and worked with him on projects in Guatemala and more recently the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Duncan is a trained and initiated K’iche’ Mayan Shaman and a member of the Native American Church.

15. This beautiful location was a movie set for “River Runs Through It” and the building was used in the dance scene for “Horse Whisperer”.
16. The photo of the Scotland highland cattle, which you might also see wandering see out back, was sent to Bill by his mother over a decade ago while she was touring the United Kingdom.

17. Something old: The Veil
18. Something new: Journey Diamond necklace from mom
19. Something borrowed: Gold bracelet from Tiffanys which belonged to Heathers great grandmother Kits
20. Something blue: Heather is wearing a blue bracelet around her ankle that was given to her as a Christmas present from Lindsay Stewart (Heather’s sister-in-law) a few years ago. It’s a bracelet that was made by a group of women in Africa who are working to better their life through international trade. 

This is the beautiful invitation that was created by Erin Leonard.  The image at the top is a water color that was painted by the Bride's father and was later made into framed prints that the father presented to the family!



More on Montana Wedding, Fall Inspiration

Rebecca and Mark brought many beautiful details to their wedding at the Lazy B Farm in Bozeman, Montana. Thank you for making me a part of your special day! I love the florals for this fall wedding...and the way the tables in the upstairs of the barn were set so beautiful and quaint!

The benches and elk antlers were a welcome touch to this rustic Montana wedding....it set the stage beautifully with the fall leaves littering the isle that the family of the bride collected and brought from back-home.
Blankets were a brilliant touch as it was chilly on this fall day in October!

I have a love affair with flowers. This is my true love and passion, but know that careful planning breeds beautiful bouquets. I have a strategic and wonderful relationship with my wholesalers so that only the freshest, most wonderful blooms are sent my way. Beautiful liquid amber leaves, peach and cream roses, hypericum berries, montbresia pods, astilbe, and more were used to create these beautifully romantic centerpieces. The bride provided a fun, hand-painted table number so that guests could find their way to their seats...





Flip flops were provided for dancing and guest comfort as the evening grew late!
Mountain Moonshine!!!
The invitation was a great representation of what the guests were in for in coming to Montana!!!

Montana Wedding, Fall Inspiration

This lovely couple inspired me so! The wedding also found it's way to the pages of BRIDES magazine, thanks to Melanie Nashan for submitting--(see entry below!). It was also the moment where I became a regular contributor to BRIDES. So many people to thank beyond this wonderful couple!
Ingredients for a perfect day:
LAZY B FARM--venue
MONTANA PARTY RENTALS--rentals
REBECCA NICKLIN--Cakes from Cabin Ridge, Cake
DUKE SHARP--Ceremony and cocktail hour music
CUSTOM DINING--appetizers
NASHAN PHOTOGRAPHY--Melanie Nashan
LESLIE LUKAS WEDDINGS & EVENTS--flowers
Please see the following photos for inspiration on your Rustic Montana Wedding!