A Backyard Micro Wedding at Conrad Mansion

Get Married at the Historic Conrad Mansion in Kalispell

Erin and Adam had a casual and laid back micro wedding to celebrate their marriage. They originally got married at the courthouse during covid and then planned a wedding with their closest family and friends to share the joyous moment with them. They had their wedding at the Historic Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, MT. This venue is excellent for intimate gatherings and smaller weddings. The outdoor space and grounds are beautifully landscaped and have various flowers throughout the seasons. With mature trees and a well manicured lawn, you can't go wrong for choosing to have a wedding here. Erin and Adam rented a tent to for guests to sit under (just in case there was rain), and used picnic tables for seating their guests for the dinner hour. They had a mobile food truck (yum, tacos!!) come for catering food for the guests, some of the BEST tacos I've ever eaten! They also used a mobile catering company to serve drinks to guests. Overall, this celebration was so fun and filled with the nest memories!

One of my favorite parts of Erin and Adams wedding day was them riding their bicycles to the wedding itself. They lived about 7 blocks from the Mansion and chose to ride their bikes to the Mansion (it was so fun to capture). Picture me sitting in the back of an SUV with the hatch lifted, photographing as they rode their bikes behind the vehicle! A sight to see if you ask me! They also made sure to include their animals in the wedding day. Poppy, their hound was a sweet pup who enjoyed being in the camera. I first met her during their engagement session years ago. At their home while getting ready, I made sure to document each of their 4 cats before we left for the venue.

I truly loved how mellow and laid back their wedding day was. Erin found her dress at the thrift store, it was so fitting for the occasion and vibes of their day. They included fun games, puzzles, yard games, and things to do for their guests in attendance! See the photos below for all the details of their day!

Back Yard Wedding Ideas

If you and your partner are choosing to have a back yard wedding, the planning is much easier than an elaborate large wedding. I also recommend having a backyard wedding if you're more laid back and was a stress free wedding day. Below I'll share some fun ideas to include for your back yard wedding that might help you in planning yours!

1. Entertainment: Whether you hire a band or musician to come play music or just rent audio gear and play your favorite playlist on Spotify, I highly recommend having something for guests to listen, dance, and entertain them during the event. If you want to customize your playlist, on your invite ask your friends/family to share a request for a song that they would love to hear during the reception!
2. Tasty Food: When you have an event you can go a number of ways for feeding people. Whether you opt for a caterer, food truck, or a family cooked meal... your budget will factor in on this greatly! I recommend having some sort of easy food for people to grab and eat throughout the reception. Depending on where you live, food trucks might be a great idea!
3. Games/Puzzles: Keep your family/friends/guests happy with some fun and entertaining yard games! Some games you might include; giant jenga, croquet, corn hole, washers, ladder ball, or even board games! Guests love having a way to kill time during receptions aside from making small talk, games are a great way to keep people from getting bored!
4. Photo booth or custom backdrop: There's no better way to get some candid and hilarious photos than to include a photo booth at your backyard wedding! You can create your own and use a phone or tablet to capture photos, or you can hire a Photo Booth vendor to manage it for the night!
5. After hours campfire: Wrap up your night with a cozy fire. Prepare some s'more making items, or a drink bar to have every one gather around to share stories and top off the night!

Hopefully some of these ideas resonate with your vision for your micro wedding day! The best part about planning a wedding is that you get to customize the day to fit your style, vision, vibes, and most importantly budget!

Montana Micro Wedding Photographer

If you're still in search of a photographer for your Montana micro wedding, I'd love to chat with your and hear more about the vision for your special day. I love the intimacy of a micro wedding, these tend to be more laid back and low-key than a large wedding. Also, if you plan to bike to your wedding... PLEASE CALL ME because I want to document it! Let's get to planning your micro wedding, reach out to me about 12-15 months to your wedding day, using my contact form on my website.

Check out some other wedding work of mine:

Intimate Wedding at Whitefish Lake Lodge

Jamie & Tyler's Wedding at Diamond B

11 Steps to Have a Wedding in Glacier National Park