Christina and Ryan
Tia Troy, for Brides and Grooms 2011
Located at the confluence of the Bitterroot, Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers and immortalized in movies like A River Runs Through It, Missoula is a prime fly-fishing destination. And for many couples planning a destination wedding, it’s an ideal location.
“There is no place like Missoula for the perfect destination wedding,” said Barb Neilan, Executive Director of Destination Missoula, the Official Convention & Visitor’s Bureau of Missoula. “Whether you want an adventure wedding, a breathtaking lake wedding or even a wedding with some western flair, Missoula has it all. Plus, the city offers sophisticated art and culture amidst unparalleled outdoor recreation opportunities all wrapped in an undeniable charm.”
For bride and groom Christina and Ryan Rees, the Garden City was an ideal location for their fall fly-fishing themed wedding.
Ryan and Christina grew up in Dillon and Livingston, both of which are major fly-fishing communities in Montana. They met here in Missoula eight years ago, dated briefly and with time found their way back to each other and knew they didn’t want to be apart.
While both come from a fly-fishing culture, it was Ryan who taught Christina how to fly-fish and it’s now an activity they love doing together, which worked out well as their shared love of fly-fishing helped them decide on their wedding theme.
Originally the Rees’ wedding was going to be held on the banks of the Big Hole River at Ryan’s grandmother’s ranch.
“Ryan’s idea was that he wanted to float to the wedding location with his groomsmen and fly-fish along the way,” said Christina. “At first I said no to the fly-fishing theme, but the more I thought about it, I reconsidered and we decided to go for it.”
The key to incorporating any wedding theme is to customize it so it fits your style and needs. When it comes to uncommon or distinctive wedding themes, it’s vital to not let the theme take center stage.
“For our wedding, we didn’t want the fly-fishing component to seem to over the top,” said Christina. “Instead we played up little details to help create the fly-fishing feeling and character throughout the wedding.”
Adding to the theme of the wedding was the location. Both the ceremony and reception were held at sunset at The Keep, a local restaurant in the South Hills with incredible views of the Missoula valley and offering an atmosphere that’s reminiscent of A River Runs Through It.
Calling upon the era of the movie as well, the wedding had a vintage vibe in a few key elements. Christina wore a lace a-line dress and her engagement ring was also vintage. Topping it off was a creel (an old-fashioned fish basket) that was used as a gift basket for the weddings gifts as the bride and groom had registered for a honeymoon.
Continuing to carry the fly-fishing element through the wedding were the party favors of small boats filled with Swedish fish. Adding an additional outdoor element were the centerpieces of square glass vases filled with river rock and topped with floating candles. River rock was also used to line the aisle and placed strategically through the reception space.
“I was nervous about the colors and elements of the wedding coming together,” said Christina. “To balance out the space we didn’t use a lot of white. We had black chairs with our sunflowers, tiger lilies and red gerbera daisies and those combined components helped give the wedding a sleek, simplistic feeling that brought the focus to the small fishing touches that were carried throughout the day.”
Marrying the vintage and fly-fishing feelings of the wedding was the cake. The lace look from Christina’s lace dress was carried over into the lemony cream-colored cake with lace-inspired frosting and Tammy Braae, a local hobby baker and friend of Christina’s, incorporated a trout into the cake as well.
“Tammy was amazing,” Christina said. “I showed her two photos of two different cakes and she tied them both together and what she created was perfect.”
When it came down to little touches, one of the most memorable elements of the wedding were flies that were tied by Ryan’s cousin, a Helena resident who ties flies in his spare time.
“The flies were a last-minute addition that we added to the wedding,” said Christina. “Originally we were going to buy flies, but having someone close to us tie the flies made that element of the wedding even more special.”
The flies were incorporated throughout the ceremony by placing them in the bouquets and boutonnieres made with flowers from Bitterroot Floral. And as an added touch the ring bearer—and couple’s nephew—carried the rings up the aisle in a dry box filled with assorted flies.
The theme was also carried over into the wedding photography. The photos were appropriately taken on the Clark Fork River—a blue-ribbon trout stream—in downtown Missoula by Dax Photography. The fly-fishing reels were incorporated into the photos and added not only to the feeling of the wedding, but captured the day’s experience and couple’s love of fly-fishing.
“The funny thing about the photos is that I didn’t cry at my wedding, but when I looked at the photos for the first time, I cried,” Christina said. “The photos are really sentimental and when I look at them, especially the fly-fishing ones, I’ll remember how we came up with the theme and our story.”
Adding an additional sentimental touch to the wedding were two cowboy hats that were present at the wedding to honor the memory of Christina’s father and Ryan’s grandfather, both of who had passed away prior to the wedding.
For this couple, it was the small details and personal touches that made their wedding so special.
“Because our theme was so distinct, we were able to channel a lot of small, creative components to have it fit our needs,” Christina said. “Small details are the best way to go.”