A Sky Blue Lakeside Wedding Weekend on Flathead Lake

As a Montana wedding planner, we create magical celebrations for our beloved clients. This includes mountaintop weddings, lakeside weddings, and ranch weddings. Since many of these are destination weddings, we encourage our couples to make the most of their time here, especially since all of their closest people are here too! This can look like doing an adventure session in Glacier National Park or exploring Montana’s beautiful lakes on a boat with their family.   

For Jessica and Brian, this meant having a three day lakeside wedding weekend on Flathead Lake. They made amazing use of their time here by planning intentional time with their loved ones, from the rehearsal dinner to their lakeside wedding day to the day-after brunch.

In this post, we’ll take you on a journey through their wedding weekend! We’ll show you the inspiration behind their lakeside wedding, all the gorgeous sky blue details, and the fun infused into every moment of their celebration.

Rehearsal Dinner at Flathead Lake Forevers

Jessica and Brian chose Flathead Lake Forevers as the setting for their lakeside wedding weekend festivities. Nestled on the shores of Flathead Lake with sweeping views of the surrounding Rocky Mountains and Chief Cliff, this Montana wedding venue couldn’t have provided a better backdrop! The weekend began with this lovely couple’s rehearsal dinner at the venue.

Together with our wonderful vendor team, we set up picnic tables by the lake and laid them with buffalo checked runners, wooden floral boxes, and bud vases. After a rehearsal in the spot where this couple would wed 24 hours later, Jessica, Brian, and 43 of their loved ones savored an al fresco meal together at the edge of Flathead Lake. They enjoyed a buffet of Texas brisket, roasted chicken, jalapeno mac & cheese, and all the fixings while sipping on white wine and huckleberry lemonade – A Montana specialty!

It was a relaxed evening, where everyone got a chance to catch up and drink in the beautiful scenery. We can’t imagine a more perfect way to kick off Jessica and Brian’s lakeside wedding celebration!

An Unexpected First Look

The next day was Jessica and Brian’s lakeside wedding! In preparation, Jessica stepped into her sleek white wedding gown. It had a lovely satin sheen and even a matching bridal jacket that was just Jessica’s style! She told us that she selected it because the dress’ texture reminded her of rippling water. What could be better for her lakeside wedding?

For the big day, Brian donned a textured, slate blue suit with a brown tie and shoes. We set him up by the lake for their first look, where he expected to see his blushing bride for the first time. Little did he know that his best friend planned a special surprise for him! When Brian turned around that day, instead of seeing Jessica, he saw his best friend dressed in a white dress and flower crown! His reaction was priceless and they got the best, goofy photos together after!

After this iconic surprise, Jessica and Brian did get their first look together. It was a precious and intimate time between them right before they tied the knot. Somehow, holding the funny first look beforehand just made this moment all the more special!

A Lakeside Wedding Ceremony

Jessica and Brian’s lakeside wedding ceremony took place along the driftwood-lined shores of Flathead Lake. White garden chairs awaited guests at this site while periwinkle blue and ivory ground florals awaited Jessica and Brian at the altar. Their florist affixed ivory floral arrangements with greenery to each aisle chair and sprinkled ivory rose petals down the aisle. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so the surrounding mountains were in full view, creating a majestic natural backdrop for their nuptials.  

When it was time, Brian started the processional by escorting both his parents down the aisle. The wedding party followed with the ladies in copper dresses and the men in tan suits and sky blue ties. Jessica then made her grand entrance with her parents. Together, they walked to the altar to the tune of “You’ll Be In My Heart.”

After a romantic lakeside wedding ceremony complete with a unity ceremony, the officiant pronounced Jessica and Brian husband and wife! They shared their first married kiss with the sunshine beaming down on them, as radiant as their love.

Sky Blue Reception Design Details

During cocktail hour, guests munched on wild mushroom crostini bites, crab salad phyllo cups, and gazpacho shooters. They mixed and mingled on the open lawn and relaxed in the sky blue lounge area that we had set up under a massive tree. The turquoise sofa, blue and ivory accent chairs, and vintage rug created a comfortable space, where guests could relax and take in the view.

After photos, our team repurposed the bridesmaids’ bouquets to use around the reception space. Jessica and Brian’s lakeside wedding reception took place underneath the venue’s reception tent. There, we set round guest tables with ivory linens and a long, wooden king’s table with an ivory gauze runner. Each table featured a variety of sky blue and white floral arrangements in gold vases, white hurricane candles, gold votives, and wooden table numbers. Every place setting had woven chargers, sky blue napkins, and dark blue water goblets. We tucked a menu card into each napkin and delicately balanced place cards in between each fork’s tines: Our little trick to prevent these from blowing away in the wind!

Jessica’s favorite color is blue and since they were having an outdoor Montana wedding, it simply made sense for their lakeside wedding to feature shades of blue! In planning, Jessica and Brian also let us know that they wanted to accent the blue with natural textures of greenery and wood to create an organic feel. Thus, we planned every detail of their lakeside wedding reception with this in mind, and the end result blew everyone away, especially the newlyweds!

A Lakeside Wedding Reception

This lakeside wedding reception started when “You Make My Dreams” by Daryl Hall and John Oates filled the mountain air. That’s when Jessica and Brian made their debut into the reception as husband and wife! They then shared their first dance together to the melody of “Your Song” by Elton John. They only had eyes for each other as they swayed underneath the glowing chandeliers.

Then, dinner was served! The 65 guests enjoyed their choice of steak, salmon, or mushroom and would later indulge in the many incredible sweets from the dessert table. Jessica and Brian’s two tier wedding cake featured pressed wildflowers and a custom gold cake topper that had silhouettes of the bride, groom, and their two dogs. Other treats from the dessert menu included mini churro cake donuts, huckleberry lemon mason jar cakes, and mini lemon meringue tarts. Needless to say, they were all dangerously delicious!

The remainder of this lakeside wedding reception burst with joy, as everyone ate, danced, and laughed together. Jessica and Brian would later tell us that “the feeling of elation while hanging out and dancing with everyone” was their favorite part of the day!

The Day After the Lakeside Wedding

Oftentimes, festivities conclude after the wedding, but Jessica and Brian wanted to keep the fun going! Not only did they have an after party until the early hours of the morning, but they also held a private brunch for everyone the next day. For the entire afternoon following their perfect lakeside wedding day, they got to keep hanging out with their people at a local brewery in one of their private event spaces. As another laidback way to spend quality time with their loved ones, this brunch helped the newlyweds truly make the most of their wedding weekend!

Glacier National Park Adventure Session

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Montana wedding weekend without a Glacier National Park adventure session! Jessica and Brian got the chance to explore the many landscapes of Glacier and capture the bliss they felt in their epic adventure photos.

Although every moment of their wedding weekend was a blast, the adventure session was a great opportunity for them to spend time together, just the two of them. We often hear from our couples that having an adventure photo shoot helps them savor that joyous “just married” feeling and having breathtaking views never hurts!

A Word From the Bride:

“Try to get a wedding planner if you can! Not having to manage most of the screening, outreach, and communication with vendors allows you to focus on the bigger picture of your vision throughout planning. Wedding planners really know how to read between the lines and get a sense of the personalities of couples they work with which allows for more seamless decision making, especially when there are so many options for everything! And on the wedding day, we had the peace of mind that everything would go smoothly, and because of that, we were truly guests at our own wedding!”

-Jessica

A Word From Katie:

Congratulations Jessica and Brian! Your lakeside wedding weekend was SO fun and downright gorgeous! I loved getting to hang out with you and your family (including the doggos!) that weekend and it’s truly a weekend for the books. Thanks for choosing me to help bring your Montana wedding dreams to life. Cheers to you both!

-Katie

Vendor Team:

Venue // Flathead Lake Forevers

Planner // Big Day Celebrations

Photo // Jacilyn M Photography

Floral // Conrad Floral

Videography // Skeeter Johnston Productions

Catering // A Moveable Feast

Cake & Desserts // Montana Wildflour

Bartender // Lady Luck Hospitality & Events

DJ & Photo Booth // RMF Entertainment

Hair & Makeup // Melanie Hobus

Rentals // Empress Tents & Events

Linen // BBJ La Tavola Linen

Transportation // Montana Trolley Co.

Restrooms // Quartermoon Restrooms

Wedding Gown // The One Bridal // NEWHITE

Lodging // Kwataqnuk Resort // Big Arm Resort

Rehearsal Dinner Catering // Famous Dave’s BBQ

Sunday Brunch // Tamarack Brewing Company

Let’s Plan Your Lakeside 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!