I was lucky enough to photograph Hayley and Dillion’s Butte Courthouse wedding, and I can’t wait to share it with you! If you’re wanting a beautiful, intimate, and chill wedding, this might be the place for you! Let’s walk through their wedding day to give you some ideas and inspiration!

GETTING READY:

They got ready together (which I LOVED) at the Hotel Finlen in downtown Butte. You can stay at the Finlen and take pictures all over their beautiful lobby! The iconic Hotel Finlen is the premiere Butte hotel, offering guest rooms in either the 1924 Historic Tower or the coolest retro mid-century Motor Inn. It is located in the heart of America’s second largest Historic District, which means you can walk out the front doors to enjoy the biggest little city in Montana, with grand architecture and an abundance of locally owned restaurants and shops. If you enjoy a local experience with rich history and unique experiences, the boutique Hotel Finlen is one of the best hotels in Montana! The hotel’s historic Cavalier Lounge has a long history of pouring the highest quality beverages in a unique and beautiful lounge, and it’s a great place to mingle with the locals and meet up with friends for a few drinks. This would be a great place to greet your guests the night before the wedding! Possibly after the Rehearsal Dinner? 

CEREMONY:

Ceremony time!! We drove over to the courthouse on a Friday in December at 1:00pm and walked right into the marriage license offices, started the paperwork, and then found a pretty space in the hallway of the courthouse to have a best friend marry them! They said I do and sealed it with a kiss! It was absolutely perfect. After the ceremony, we walked back into the clerk of the court to finish everything up.

For those of you interested in doing this same thing, the office issues marriage licenses between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and their fee for a marriage license is $53.00 payable by cash or money order. They don’t accept personal checks or credit/debit cards for marriage licenses. Each applicant should have proof of his or her age; driver’s licenses or birth certificates will work for proof of that! If someone has been married previously, they need to know where it took place and date of the divorce or the death of the previous spouse. 

For those attending, there is TONS of free parking in front of the courthouse which is amazing. They also have stairs to get into the Courthouse, but you can go around the side for a ramp if you need. They also have an elevator going to every floor! 

Hayley and Dillion wanted a very small and intimate wedding. So, they invited her parents, the friend that married them, and their partner! After the ceremony, we met up with the rest of the family and friends downtown to celebrate!

Something I want to say for those thinking about getting married here, is that Butte goes hard for Christmas! There was SO much Christmas décor around, so if you are a Grinch I would suggest holding off for a December wedding at the Courthouse. 

PORTRAITS:

After the ceremony, it was time to take Portraits! We did everything after they said I do! I loved that. We did all the pictures in the courthouse because it was so stinking beautiful! Definitely look up their website to read more about the architecture, it was picture perfect, and we had so much fun! 

Since we were inside the whole time, we went around their opening hours just in case we got there and it was super busy! But it worked out for us, and we had so much time and space to get all of the pictures they wanted. They also stayed in their same killer outfits the whole time! They looked SO good, and picked things they are comfortable in. 

They also wanted a few family portraits, so we did those right after they were announced man and wife! After the family portraits, we sent the family to the bar to meet us and took their couple portraits before heading to the bar. 

RECEPTION:

Onto the reception! We were able to walk down to Maloney’s Bar, one of the couples’ favorite! It’s a gritty/ grungy/ risqué environment with a lot of energy. Perfect! They have a pool table, loads of games, and a fun energy. It is a traditional Irish Bar. P.S. you HAVE to check out that bathroom…  After Maloney’s, we headed to Headframe Spirits to hang out with the family that had little kids! Home of the Orphan Girl drink!

If you didn’t know, Butte is the only Taco Bell Cantina in the state! So, you can have your Crunch Wrap Supreme with an alcoholic Baja blast!

TIMELINE:

We photographed for 4 hours, which is my elopement package, and it was perfect!! We were able to grab getting ready pictures, ceremony, family, portraits, and a little bit of the reception. We started at 1:00 pm and ended at 4:00 pm. 

THEME:

These two had such an incredible vibe and theme for their wedding. It was a bit of retro cowboy chic, plus Elvis. If you get what I mean. SUCH a vibe and they looked amazing. 

The florist from Stigma and Style looked up pictures of the Butte courthouse and saw the pink pillars and was totally inspired! She made a bouquet that she called “Grandma goes to a rave” and made a bouquet for both of them that looked unique but similar. Hayley also had a pink hat that went with it all! INCREDIBLE. Hayley’s white jumpsuit is freaking sick, the two bouquets are killer, and I think they mixed casual but cool together so well! It was a true vibe of a courthouse wedding. 

FLORIST:

I really want to highlight Stigma and Style for her cool double bouquets! I absolutely love her work, and think she did an amazing job! Her bio below:

“I was born and raised in Montana, and am endlessly inspired by this great state. My love affair with flowers began in 2010 when I took a job working in a flower shop processing flowers and washing buckets. Eventually​ I was brought onto the floor as a designer, and created my first full floral for a wedding in 2015. Since 2015 I have spent my summers doing wedding flowers and exploring this great state. I created Stigma & Style Co. in the fall of 2020 with the ambitions and wishes of making this my full-time gig.” https://www.stigmastyle.com/

Below are some fun recommendations to do in Butte for your elopement/wedding:

Cavalier – Best cocktails in town, and in Hotel Finlen, you must go look around in the lobby! 

Silante – Good for a beer, and they have a cool vintage arcade in the basement! Food is NOT good :/ 

The Wine Cellar – Fancy and expensive, but a really nice wine bar! 

Mr. Hot dogs – Amazing place for a lunch, wild interior and it’s just one old man who loves hot dogs and opera. Cash only! 

La Sirena – The best Mexican in town, it’s drive through only and their hours are weird, but their birria tacos are so good!! 

Casagrandes – Good steak house for a semi fancy dinner, on the more expensive side! 

Sparky’s Garage – Yummy burger joint with a cool interior of a bunch of vintage car stuff.

North 46 – Super great and healthy fresh sandwich and soup place, they make their own bread! 

Pekin – Longest running Chinese restaurant in the states, a historical treat! The food isn’t that great, but I think the spicy pork appetizer is fine and sweet and sour chicken is okay! You kind of have to go to say you did it. They have some fun imported beer though!

The Hummingbird Cafe – Best breakfast/lunch in town, and definitely the healthiest. The atmosphere is delightful! 

Butte brewing – Best pizza and beer in town, lots of windows and nice atmosphere!! 

Metals bank – Sports bar with good food and a historical interior! They have a gigantic almost cartoon-like bank vault that a fleet of horses pulled into town forever ago. You can eat inside it!

I hope this helps you decide if a Butte Courthouse wedding is for you! There are some great things to do around town, and the courthouse is beautiful as you can see. Happy planning!