An Outdoor Ceremony with a Rustic Tent Wedding Reception

As a top Montana wedding planner, we are here to carry out your wedding vision from start to finish! We have experience designing, planning, and executing all types and styles of weddings, from a tent wedding to a ranch wedding to a mountaintop wedding. We do large scale weddings, micro weddings and intimate weddings, so no matter what you have in mind, we have the skill and experience to bring that vision to life!

What’s more is that we LOVE what we do and one of our goals during planning is to help you have fun every step of the way! There’s no stress here!

In this wedding story, we’ll share with you Anna and Kyle’s outdoor wedding ceremony followed by a rustic tent wedding reception at Great Northern Resort. They even snuck away for some adventure photos pre-ceremony and the images aren’t ones you want to miss!

Come along with us in this post to explore one beautiful possibility for your wedding: an outdoor ceremony and covered tent wedding reception!

Rustic Wedding Ceremony Details:

Anna and Kyle chose one of our favorite west Montana wedding venues: Great Northern Resort! This sweet couple’s ceremony took place in the Ceremony Meadow and their tent wedding reception was nestled adjacent to this area.

The Ceremony Meadow features plenty of natural greenery already with dense forest trees surrounding the space. On a clear day, you can see the mountains peeking over the top of the trees in the distance. 

On this particular day, we set a wooden rectangular arch at the altar. We draped one side of it with ivory fabric and the florist attached a colorful floral spray to one corner. There were peach roses, burnt orange dahlias, and pops of blue and purple woven into the floral spray.

We set out 24 natural wooden folding chairs with white chair pads. Then, we attached delicate floral sprays to each of the aisle chairs. These arrangements consisted of white roses and plenty of greenery, including silver dollar eucalyptus, all tied together with a white ribbon.

These beautiful details set the perfect stage for Anna and Kyle to get married!

Tent Wedding Reception Details:

Anna and Kyle’s tent wedding reception was simply gorgeous! Great Northern Resort has a permanent white covered tent with market lighting for couples to utilize. It has brick paved flooring and open-air sides, so guests can enjoy the view and a nice breeze as they celebrate all evening long!

Anna and Kyle’s tent wedding reception was rustic in style, so we used wooden farm tables for the guest seating. We laid an ivory gauze table runner down the center of each table and meticulously scattered crystal bud vases, cylinder candles atop wood slices and gold votives across every runner. We even interspersed loose greenery to give the tables a fuller and more rustic look.

Each place setting had a multicolored water goblet, a coral textured napkin, and gold flatware. Each of these delicate details helped add color and pattern to the tablescape. We must say that we loved how each table turned out!

The First Look:

Before Anna and Kyle’s ceremony and tent wedding reception, they held a first look, just the two of them. We had Kyle face the other way as Anna walked up behind him. When he turned around, he saw a beautiful bride and the love of his life! Anna wore a sleek white wedding gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. She paired her dress with white flats with ballerina slipper straps and dangly white earrings.

And when she turned around, Kyle could see her luscious brown hair in waves with her sparkly hairpiece glimmering in the light. They were all smiles as they saw each other for the first time on their big day!

Pre-Ceremony Adventure Session:

If you’re having an outdoor wedding, tent wedding, or any other kind of wedding in Montana, you NEED to visit Glacier National Park! Some of our couples head to the park for adventure photos after all the wedding festivities conclude. Others opt to do their adventure session the day after the wedding, so they’re not restricted by time.

Anna and Kyle chose to bake their adventure session into their wedding day timeline, which we love! They snuck away to the park after their first look to capture some amazing couple’s portraits by Lake McDonald.

Although it was a cloudy day, they were able to get some fantastic photos at the lake with the mountains and dramatic sky behind them. It was also a great way for them to have some alone time before the ceremony and tent wedding reception!

The Ceremony:

We made sure everything was ready to go at the ceremony site and for the tent wedding reception by the time Anna, Kyle and their photographer arrived back at Great Northern Resort. When they did, it was time for the ceremony! The processional kicked off with their officiant, Kyle, and his best man making their debut down the aisle.  

Anna’s maid of honor followed suit, holding the little flower girl’s hand and helping her down the aisle too. Right before Anna walked down the aisle, their ring bearer walked in with a wooden sign that read “Here comes the love of your life.” When Anna made her grand entrance, all eyes were on her! Her smile was infectious as she held her father’s arm in one hand and her colorful bridal bouquet in the other.

During the ceremony, Anna and Kyle had a lasso unity ceremony. Their family members presented them with a lush garland of greenery and draped it over both Anna’s and Kyle’s shoulders. The officiant then prayed over them and the almost newlyweds exchanged rings. This was such a sweet and unique unity ceremony!

Then, Anna and Kyle became husband and wife, and they sealed the deal with a kiss!

A Tent Wedding Reception:

After Anna and Kyle took photos with their family, their guests headed to the tent wedding reception area. But Anna and Kyle stayed behind in the Ceremony Meadow for just a little bit longer for a private first dance.

They held each other and danced with the forest trees towering behind them. We loved that they got to have this private and intimate time with each other, just moments after getting married!

Then, it was off to celebrate! The newlyweds joined their family and friends at their tent wedding reception to share a delicious meal together, which included a mac and cheese bar. YUM times ten!

Afterwards, toasts were given and everyone mixed and mingled, played lawn games, and hung out. They munched on cinnamon rolls and donuts in lieu of a cake and sipped on bubbly champagne.

In the back half of their tent wedding reception, Anna slipped on a customized jean jacket that had pearls along the shoulders and her new last name on the back. What a cool bride!

And they lived happily ever after!

A Word from Katie:

Anna and Kyle, congratulations on a gorgeous tent wedding and the start of your marriage! It was my pleasure and honor to be a part of your journey. I’m so glad you guys chose me to assist with your big day. Thank you so much! Cheers to you!

-Katie  

Vendor Team:

Planner: Big Day Celebrations

Venue: Great Northern Resort

Photographer: Dina Remi Photography

Officiant: Big Day Officiants

Florist: Conrad Floral

Baker: Ceres Bakery // Krispy Kreme Donuts

Hair & Makeup: Melanie Hobus

Caterer: The Kopper Kitchen

Rentals: Empress Tents & Events

Linen: BBJ Linen

Place Cards: Two Peas Paper Co.

Let’s Plan Your Rustic Tent 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!