MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER – RED LODGE RANCH ENGAGEMENT SESSION

I met Ashley and Chad last January at a bridal show and just knew they were exactly the type of couple I’d love to photograph.  After meeting a few times, several drinks, and after lots of Ashley convincing Chad, we finally shot their engagement session eight months later!  It was worth the wait!  Horses play a special part in Ashley and Chad’s romance, so of course I was willing to do an extended engagement session out on a Red Lodge ranch with their horses, even though I’m actually really scared of horses!  It was fine though, I overcame my fear of horses and we made some pretty engagement artwork that they will cherish for generations.  Thank you Ashley, Chad and Aurora for showing me a great time on the ranch!  More to come soon from this Red Lodge engagement session.

As a Montana Wedding photographer based in Billings Montana, I often find myself in the most beautiful places Montana has to offer.  From Red Lodge, to Big Sky, and all the way up to the Flathead and Glacier National Park, I photograph weddings from the streams to the mountains.  My clients have one thing in common: are not satisfied with anything short of the best wedding photography that Montana has to offer.  At Paul Bellinger photography we don’t deliver anything less than heirloom quality artwork worthy of preserving your story for generations to come. www.paulbellinger.com

MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER – ENGAGEMENT ADVENTURES

Montana is a beautiful wedding destination that attracts couples from all around the country.  I feel so lucky to live here with my amazing wife and work in a profession that enables us to explore this beautiful area.  All of these photos are from a recent engagement session adventure to Tofino, British Columbia.  Naturally, my wife and I took the scenic route, exploring Idaho, Washington, the Palouse, the Olympic Peninsula, Pacific Rim National Park Canada, Sea to Sky Highway Canada, Banff National Park Canada, Glacier National Park USA, and we drove up and down Western Montana on two different routes.  We saw bears, bald and golden eagles, elk, mountain goats, a coyote, a fox and birds galore.  We spent some time with our awesome clients, Jenny and Daniel, who took us to some beautiful beaches, canoeing to a tiny lake island, and to two amazing seafood restaurants (and an equally impressive food truck that serves poutine).  I can’t wait for the wedding adventure we’ll have in Big Sky Montana this summer.  We made some beautiful engagement photos right on the Pacific Ocean.  It was a dream week with my wife, who had never been West of Bozeman Montana, had never seen the Pacific Ocean and had never been to Idaho, Washington, or Canada.  I’m so lucky to have a partner like her to explore with!  She’s also the navigator and she watches to make sure bears and mountain lions don’t sneak up behind me while I’m making photos!  So here’s a few photos I’m grateful to have made with her.

We found these snowy foggy trees and pristine pond in Kootenay National Park Canada.  We stopped to read a sign about a mother grizzly and two cubs that were in the area, and that we found soon after. 

It was very refreshing to spend some time in the magnificent Canadian Rockies, but my favorite mountain photo of the trip was this black and white of the Howe Ridge from Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park Montana. 

After being in the mountains for days, it was nice to return to the prairie of Western Montana and be greeted with a beautiful prairie sunset near Judith Gap Montana.

I am Montana wedding photographer Paul Bellinger.  I love photography and I specialize in dramatic fine art wedding photography that is as epic as your love story.  From the mountains to the beaches, I photograph weddings of all shapes and sizes, and in any wedding destination in Montana or beyond.  I would be honored to be your wedding photographer.  Please contact me through my Montana wedding photographer website www.paulbellinger.com

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER - TIP 5: WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PERSONALITY

5. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PERSONALITY

Problem: how to ensure your wedding photographer has a personality for success on your wedding day.

Solution: Meet with potential photographers face to face and assess their personality on key characteristics detailed below.

You need to like your wedding photographer!  This doesn’t mean you have to be their best friend, but you need to like the way they handle themselves, how they interact with people, and their attitude before you unleash them on your dearest friends and family.  Your wedding vendors represent you on your wedding day, and reflect your taste to your guests. The photographer is one of the most visible vendors on your day and they’ll be spending a lot of time with you and your guests, so you should care about the way they are representing you.  The photographer is also one of the most pivotal vendors at your wedding, and if they get flustered, lose their cool, or freak out, it could be disastrous.

MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER - JEFF AND MARY'S TAHOE WEDDING!

MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER - DANCING IN THE STAIRCASE

Rachel and Ryan took a moment to dance in the staircase by themselves after their wedding ceremony.  Well they felt like they were by themselves, but we were there too, patiently waiting from a distance for the moment to occur.  I love seeing a couple so in love that they can enter their own little world at any time and be complete alone together, even if they're surrounded by people.  I’m glad they took a few moments for themselves because this is one of my favorite photos from their awesome wedding.

MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - THE EMBRACE

This is one of my favorite wedding photos.  Lindsay and Kevin had just tied the knot and walked down the aisle as a married couple.  They didn’t make it very far past the aisle before they turned and hugged each other in tears for a few moments while everyone else was gathering their things to head for the reception.  They are so in love that they had their own private bubble despite being in front of about a hundred people.  I was lucky to be in position to get a few shots framed up by Lindsay’s bridesmaids.  Moments like these are my favorite to capture, despite the fact that from photographic perspective I prefer the more dramatic wide landscape style photos.  But these are the moments that bring back the emotions that were overflowing on that special day.

BILLINGS MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL BELLINGER - SPARKS WERE FLYING!

Sparks Were Flying!  This is one of my favorites from Lindsey and Justin’s College Station wedding!  Sparks were flying all day for these lovebirds, but the reception was electric!  I had a great time at this wedding, I’m very thankful to Sarah Williams for letting me tag along.

Paul Bellinger fine art wedding photographer.  Billings Montana wedding photography by Montana wedding photographer Paul Bellinger.  Paul Bellinger wedding photography available for any wedding destination.  www.paulbellinger.com

MONTANA WEDDING AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE

My beautiful wife Nini in downtown Nacogdoches.  For our anniversary she received a massage, hair and makeup at Julia’s salon, while I was given this photo shoot!  It was fun, my wife is awesome!  If you're an awesome wife you deserve a Paul Bellinger portrait commission too!

In this photo Nini is lit with one light, a beauty dish just out of the frame to the camera left.  I like how the beauty dish looks on Nini, but I also like how it creates a natural vignette on the brick wall.

Paul Bellinger Montana wedding photographer is available for Billings Montana portrait commissions.  Paul Bellinger Montana wedding photography is available for any wedding destination in Montana or around the world.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Dad on the banks of the Missouri overlooking our hometown Omaha Nebraska!  It was probably 0 degrees fahrenheit plus a cool breeze coming off the river.  Hence dad's snow suit!   Happy father's day dad!  I can't wait to shoot some landscapes together again soon!

My stepdad Bruce posing with my beautiful wife Nini in front of Bruce's huge smoker at our Husker tailgate party!  We had the smoker up and running before sunrise!  I wish father's day was during Husker season, so we could celebrate appropriately.  Happy father's day Brucey!


Paul Bellinger Montana wedding photographer Billings Montana wedding photography www.paulbellinger.com

PAUL BELLINGER MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER, BILLINGS MONTANA

It's time for this blog to take off like Sala leaping for the Frisbee!  My new Montana wedding photography business is launching and I can't wait to get to Montana and start photographing weddings!  I specialize in fine art wedding photography a perfect fit for nature's fine art landscape in Montana.  My unique wedding artwork is dramatic, romantic, fantastical and dream like.  Visit my site www.paulbellinger.com to begin making your Montana wedding dreams into artwork that will be cherished for generations.

This is our youngest pup, Sala is just about a year old.  He's our favorite part of Texas we'll be taking with us when we move to Montana.  His breed is a crazy mix, but he is ripped to the bone!  Mr. Muscles has been learning to catch the frisbee and, birds be warned, he can fly!