Aimee andc Tyler | A Planner

I’m always the self-proclaimed “planner in the group” and have always had a passion for creating beautiful experiences. While I was closing on a real estate deal, I was also dreaming up the next themed dinner party with friends. My background in real estate management, an entrepreneurial spirit, and my natural ability to entertain fueled me to pursue my dream career in event planning and vendor coordination.

 My husband Tyler, a Montana native, had been taking me to Montana over the course of our four year courtship, and during that time I fell in love with his childhood town, Bozeman. He popped ‘the question’ in April while we were on a trip to Paris. Moments after saying “Yes!” I knew I wanted a destination wedding in Bozeman.

Fast forward to a few weeks after the proposal, and I had already created our budget, developed a vendor list, and delegated any task I knew would be better handled by a professional (more on that later). While it was new for me to plan a destination event, I hired my key vendors and designed the overall look and details for the wedding, down to custom cocktail napkins. Most of our guests were traveling from out of state, so planning our wedding day quickly turned into planning a wedding week. I wanted our guests to get the full Montana experience, so  I planned a variety of pre-wedding day events, including a private tour of Yellowstone, a 50 person float on the Madison River, dancing at Music on Main, and a welcome dinner for all of our guests at the historical Story Mansion.

 I felt that the fairytale-like atmosphere of The Woodlands spoke for itself, and I didn’t want to take away from the valley backdrop and rustic venue. I decided on a simple palette of white complemented with varying shades of green, navy, and pops of orange.  Katalin Green, my florist, had just visited her friend’s vineyard in the Flathead and had returned with several crates of apricots.  She incorporated them into the bay leaf garland that adorned our family style tables. The orange from the apricots was a perfect complement to the bursts of orange in my beyond beautiful bouquet.  To pay homage to our east coast pride and our home in Baltimore , famous for its crabs, I decided on crab shaped cookie cutters as a wedding favor. My groom made sure that the West was well represented with bison and moose cookie cutters.

Planning a wedding can seem like a daunting task, especially if you are planning from a far, but  with organization, research, and a good team of vendors, you can be make your wedding dream come true.

• Keep the planning process fun! My most important tip for couples is to keep the wedding planning process light. If at any time a task doesn’t feel quite right, re-evaluate your approach and think about out-sourcing. For me, it was unbearable to think about addressing all of my envelopes by hand.  After a bit of research, I found many printers will do addressing for free.
• I recommend hiring a day-of-coordinator.
• Take this time to develop that one-of-a-kind event with your loved one. You and your future beau clearly have good taste, which is why you chose each other. While your friends and family will have many opinions during the planning process, you will never regret making personal wedding decisions with your loved one.
• Be open to suggestions from your vendor team, especially if you are planning a destination wedding.  They will have information about the area that will help you make decisions.  You hired them for a reason, so place trust in their decisions.  The apricots Katalin incorporated into the design were a last minute addition, but really tied together the floral design.
• Develop a timeline, and will make sure your day runs smoothly. Planning a wedding can be a roller coaster ride, and having a timeline will assist with those natural pre-wedding jitters. Review your timeline and be open to editing it frequently before your big day. Plans change and that’s OK! Be organized, but allow yourself some wiggle room for new ideas or unforeseen circumstances.

Photographer: Orange Photographie
Florist: Katalin Green Flowers
Wedding Design: The Bride

Venue: The Woodslands at Cottonwood Canyon
Hair & Makeup: Canyon River Spa
Gown: Pronovias
Shoes: Badgeley Mischka
Grooms Suit: Calvin Klein
Caterer: Seasonal Montana

Rentals: Montana Party Rentals
DJ: Joe's DJ Service
Videographer: Vector Visuals
Invites: Minted
Transportation: First Student
Lodging: Element Bozeman
Lodging: C'mon Inn
Day of Coordinator: Bash

The Bride, Aimee Miller,  is currently planning events in Maryland and D.C., and can’t wait to plan another destination wedding. You can follow her adventures at: Instagram @byaimeemiller or on the web at www.byaimeemiller.com