Kelly and Ramsey’s friends and family traveled across country to join them in the mountains of Montana, one of their favorite places, for a wedding weekend that the bride calls “an epic best of everything & everyone.” We love the personal touches—like the way they incorporated the custom crest Kelly had painted for Ramsey into all the paper goods designed by Birdwalk Press. And can we talk about the gorgeous pastel florals by Lukas Trudeau Event Co.?? We know you’re going to love all these details and more captured by the exceptional Orange Photographie.
What made the wedding special and unique?
Montana is such a favorite place of ours; we’ve traveled there together more than any other place, and we love being in the mountains. So to have all of our most-loved people make the trek out there to celebrate in a really special spot made it absolutely awesome for us. And so many people had never been to Montana; we were psyched to get them out there. In the few days leading up to the wedding we went fly fishing, did a white water rafting trip with 50 friends & family, and tackled a great hike. It just felt like an epic “best of everything & everyone” few days.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
My mom was visiting us in San Diego from Florida not long after we got engaged, and I wanted to make sure that she was able to participate in the dress aspect in some way in person. We went to a few appointments and struck gold at M Bride in La Jolla. I narrowed it down to two favorites pretty quickly, and kept going back to the one I ultimately chose; it felt so elegant and timeless, and I knew that 20 or 50 years from now looking back at pictures I’d still love it. So it ended up being a pretty easy decision. The dress is Anna Maier Ulla-Maija Couture.
What were some touches added to make it personal?
We were big on this; we really wanted the whole weekend to feel like we were behind it, so we wove in as much as we could. I had designed and painted a family crest for Ramsey for Christmas and we used that in a number of places; Ramsey was a pilot in the Marine Corps at the time so we cut our cake with his saber, and had an incredible red velvet F/A-18 cake created by Elle’s Belles (this thing was unreal!); and we had our guests wave little American flags when we walked down the aisle.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
Oh man, it’s so hard to pick one (I know, everyone says that, but it’s true!). A highlight for me was rounding the corner to walk down the aisle with my dad & step-dad, with the string quartet playing Florence & the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” (that intro gets me every time), and seeing everyone there, at Moonlight, to celebrate with us. I lost it and practically sobbed my way down the aisle. It was the ultimate flood of wonderful emotions and there was no containing my happiness in that moment.
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
We met in Japan, while I was living in London and Ramsey was on a deployment in Japan. I went on a trip to Tokyo and Nagano (to ski) with some friends, one of whom is Ramsey’s good friend who had invited him to come meet up with us to ski. Ramsey braved a 12hr train ride to join us, and a few years later, that friend was a groomsman in our wedding! We got engaged when we were living in San Diego together; Ramsey flew us in a Cessna out to Catalina Island for an afternoon (yeah…as one does!), and surprised me with the proposal mid-flight when he asked me to take over the controls for a second because he had to get something out of his bag in the back. In my excitement I let go and completely forgot about the whole “flying-the-plane” thing…
Photographer: Orange Photographie // Planner & Floral Design: Lukas Trudeau Event Co. // Bride’s dress: Anna Maier Ulla-Maija Couture / From M Bride Salon in La Jolla, CA // Groom/Groomsmen’s Suits: Banana Republic // Ties: Hermes // Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew // Invitations: Birdwalk Press // Rentals: Montana Party Rentals // Photo Booth: Big Sky Photo Booth // Band: Andrew Gromiller and the Organically Grown // Cake & Desserts: Elle’s Belles // Bride’s hair & makeup: Aubree Hill, owner Huxley Salon // Bridesmaids’ hair & makeup: Indulgence // Videographer: Matt + Jess // Venue & Catering: Moonlight Basin // Rehearsal Dinner/Party was at Gallatin Riverhouse Grill // Sunday Brunch was at Olive B’s Bistro
Kelly + Ramsey from Jess Purple on Vimeo.