A Bright Wildflower Wedding at Star Meadows Ranch

The natural beauty of Montana often inspires our couples in their wedding décor and style. They frequently select Montana as their destination wedding location because they fell in love with Glacier’s majestic mountains, lakes, and forests. Thus, our goal in planning their wedding decor is often to highlight the natural beauty we have here.

That certainly was the case for Mariah & Castan’s wildflower wedding! They knew from the start of planning that they wanted colors that would pop, but also still coincide with Montana’s natural scenery. As a result, we planned and executed a magnificent wildflower wedding for them!

From start to finish, it was a gorgeous day with the brightest and most joyous colors incorporated throughout! Make sure to read to the end because you definitely don’t want to miss a single moment or photo of Mariah & Castan’s wildflower wedding!

Before the Wildflower Wedding:

Mariah & Castan held their wildflower wedding at Star Meadows Ranch. However, before they made it to the altar, they shared a beautiful journey together. Like many modern love stories, the pair first met on Bumble back in 2018.

Their first date was nice and pleasant, but sparks didn’t fly right away. They honestly almost drifted apart due to Castan’s hectic schedule as a junior league hockey coach, but thankfully, fate intervened. One evening, Mariah received a like on an Instagram picture of herself. This normally wouldn’t be a life-altering event, but in this case, it was a photo from over 6 months ago!

She saw that the like was from Castan (who, until this day, blames the like on his boss!) and this event actually reignited their connection. From that point forward, they cultivated a wonderful friendship together. This blossomed into romance, which led them down the path towards their wildflower wedding years later.

A Fateful Trip to Montana:

Fast forward 2 years to 2020 when Castan planned a getaway to Flathead Lake in Montana for the couple and a few of their friends. During the trip, he planned a nice dinner at a friend’s house that connected to a private island with a bridge. That evening, he took Mariah across the bridge to explore the island and on their way back to the house, he stopped them at the crest of the bridge. There, he got down on one knee with the blue hue of the mountains glowing around them.

As tears fell down her face, she exclaimed a big YES, and they were engaged!

Castan then led Mariah back to the house, where they all shared a beautiful meal together overlooking the sunset followed by a cozy bonfire. It was the most perfect Montana evening!

Planning a Wildflower Wedding:

Since Montana played a pivotal role in Mariah & Castan’s relationship, they decided to tie the knot there! They selected a venue called Star Meadows Ranch, a property in Whitefish with 360 acres of land and cabins for everyone to stay in. It was perfect for their wildflower wedding!

With so much natural beauty surrounding them at the ranch, Mariah & Castan wanted to include pops of color to enhance the landscape and the summer season. Their wedding colors included bright blue, yellow, orange, and pink.

In the ceremony meadow, we set a half arch with wildflowers in these colors. In the center of the altar, we placed a birch table for their tree unity ceremony. The mountains in the background were lush and green and the sky was the most vivid blue we’ve seen, all creating an absolutely stunning ceremony spot!

Inside the reception pavilion, we set round tables for the guests and a long head table for the newlyweds and wedding party We dressed the round tables in white linens and the head table with a white gauze table runner. We then set floating candles and clear bud vases on top of wood slices and scattered those on each of the tables. Each wood slice actually had Mariah & Castan’s names stamped on each one, which was a gorgeous personal touch!

But our favorite reception design detail had to have been the multicolored goblets! Each place setting got a different colored water glass, from amber to blush to sage to blue. We loved how these provided pops of color throughout the room, keeping in theme with their wildflower wedding!

Mariah & Castan’s Big Day:

On the morning of Mariah & Castan’s wildflower wedding, Mariah and her girls got their hair & makeup done in the ranch’s Eagles Nest. Meanwhile, Castan and his guys hung out in the Wolves Den/Game Room, enjoying some poker, video games, and drinks before the ceremony.

When it was time for Mariah to get dressed, she slipped into an off-the-shoulder gown with lace details on the bodice and along the hem. It was simultaneously sleek and soft, and the earrings she wore gave her look the perfect amount of sparkle!

Once she was ready, she held a first look with her dad and then also one with her dog, Kado! Kado is a Siberian husky that means the world to this couple, so it only made sense for him to be present on their wedding day! Mariah and Kado’s first look took place at the ceremony’s altar and it was the cutest thing!

A Wildflower Wedding Ceremony:

When it was time for the processional to begin, we lined up the wedding party, cued the music, and then sent everyone down the aisle one by one. Right before Mariah walked down the aisle with her dad, Kado had his moment to shine! Acting as their ring bearer pup, he paved the way for his mama.

During the ceremony, Mariah & Castan had a unity tree ceremony. For this, they had a sapling on a small table at the altar. They then took turns watering the tree with the intent to bring it home and plant it at their house. Then, for years to come, they can watch the tree grow, just as their relationship and love continue to grow and thrive. There are many options for unity ceremonies nowadays, but this tree ceremony was just perfect for their wildflower wedding ceremony!

Before the officiant pronounced them husband and wife, Mariah & Castan read personalized vows to the other. Later, Mariah would tell us that this was both of their favorite parts of the entire day! They were heartfelt, sentimental, and just plain beautiful!

Then, they were married! They kissed and then walked back up the aisle to “Send Me On My Way.” Time to party!

A Wildflower Wedding Cocktail Hour:

While the newlyweds took photos with their family, the guests went to this wildflower wedding’s cocktail hour on the Pavilion Lawn. There, we set a mirror as a welcome sign to greet them and colorful lounge furniture for them to relax in. Guests had fun taking selfies in the mirror sign, playing corn hole out on the lawn, and enjoying drinks and appetizers.

Since Castan is a hockey coach, the couple chose to use a hockey jersey as their guest book. Thus, we set the jersey on a table at the cocktail hour with a sign encouraging guests to sign it. We loved that they had “The Sommers” and their wedding date on the back of the jersey!

A Wildflower Wedding Reception:

To kick off the wildflower wedding reception, we lined up the wedding party and newlyweds for reception introductions. Everyone definitely had fun with each of their grand entrances! One pair would dance out, another bumped hips, and yet another shotgunned beers! These set the tone for the party portion of the evening and everyone was ready to celebrate!

After a delicious dinner and wonderful toasts, Mariah and Castan took to the dance floor for their first dance. Then, Mariah danced with her father and Castan danced with his mom. When all the formal dances concluded, the dance floor opened to all!

While the DJ had everyone busting out their best dance moves, Mariah and Castan snuck outside for sunset photos. During this time, not only did they capture incredible pictures, but they also had a moment to themselves. Mariah told us after the wedding that they cherished this private time because as fun as the wedding was, it was still a hectic day. They enjoyed getting a chance to breathe, talk to each other in private, and simply spend a moment alone together as newlyweds.

When they returned to the celebration, we brought out pizzas as a late night snack. Guests munched on these in between dancing and partying the night away! By the time the reception drew to a close around midnight, everyone glowed with happiness, their cheeks hurting from smiling so much all day.

Mariah and Castan had their magical wildflower wedding and their friends and family definitely sent them off into their future together with so much love!  

Final Word from Katie:

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Sommers! Your wildflower wedding was stunning, and Joe and I were honored to help pull it off! We also loved getting to know the two of you. You were a joy to work with! We wish you all the love and happiness in your future together!

-Katie

Vendor Team:

Planner: Big Day Celebrations

Venue: Star Meadows Ranch

Photographer: Kelly Kirksey Photography

Videographer: On The Fly Films

DJ & Lighting: RMF Entertainment

Officiant: Robert Zeise

Florist: Flathead Farmworks

Hair & Makeup: Melanie Hobus

Caterer: Fork in the Road

Bartender: Maverick’s Casino

Rentals: Empress Tents & Events

Transport: Harlows

Ice Cream: Sweet Peaks Ice Cream

Rehearsal Dinner Band: The Bad Larrys

Let’s Plan Your Wildflower Wedding!

Big Day Celebrations offers full-service wedding planning, coordination & design services, and micro-wedding packages, so no matter how you envision your wedding, we will make it happen and have a whole lot of fun along the way!

Ready to get started? Drop me a note below and let’s do this!