Dan + Ali [destination Montana photographer]

We had our very first destination wedding a few weeks ago. I feel so fancy saying "destination." It was really just up the road a few hundred miles and into the Gallatin forest but it was a destination and we happily went. The wedding took place at a church camp right down the road from the church camp that Evan and I attended every summer as children (before we even knew each other), so we knew that this would be a very special wedding. When we took Dan and Ali's engagements earlier this year, we fell in love with them. They love each other more than any couple we've ever met and I just told them to do their thing and I would take their picture. Well, everything they did was adorable and they laughed together and joked around and danced and smiled and kissed and we just kind of stood there in awe of how perfect they were together. I love that Evan and I, as two complete strangers, could see their love so obviously.

Dan and Ali love Jesus and their ceremony perfectly portrayed that. They washed each others feet with the water from the river where Dan was baptized. That's something so special I've only seen a couple of times and wish that I could get married again so I could incorporate that into my own wedding. It's so special and such a picture of laying your own self down so that you may serve your spouse. We loved that. And then people prayed Ecclesiastes 4:12 over them: "A cord of three strands is not easily broken." And they talked about how God wanted them to do their work together. The ceremony was incredibly moving and intimate and I loved watching so many people rally around this couple in support of their love and brand new marriage. While the girls were getting ready in the morning, Ali said to me, "This doesn't even feel like a wedding. I feel like I'm on a retreat." She was so relaxed and calm and ready to marry the love of her life that she was right-it didn't feel like a wedding. We gladly accepted the change of pace from our usual hectic, rushing days.

Everything about Dan and Ali's wedding was perfect and we're so honored to have played a part in their love story. Congratulations, Dan and Ali!