Lake Tahoe
A Winter Lake Tahoe Vow Renewal
Alexandria and Jaymeson have been married for five years and decided to elope for their five-year anniversary to renew their vows privately. Their wedding, five years prior lacked a photographer and many important aspects to them, so they decided that renewing their vows privately was the perfect way to celebrate their marriage and the people that they’ve grown into, together. Along with their dogs, Ziggy and Marley, they snuck away to Lake Tahoe.
Alexandria and Jaymeson celebrated with champagne and ice cream!
The Wedding Team
Photographer: Someplace Images | Officiant: Lake Tahoe Wedding Ministries | Location: Thomas F Regan Memorial City Beach
A Mountain Destination Wedding at Lake Tahoe
This fun loving, laid back couple chose the mountains for their wedding location because they love visiting and spending time in Tahoe. Their wedding day was filled with lush white florals accented with greenery while touches of gold added a luxe vibe. A handmade lift ticket escort card display with tables named after ski runs tied in the mountain theme. Late-night s’mores and dancing under the stars topped off the mountain celebration.
The Wedding Team
Photographer: annie X photographie | Event Designer: Summit Soiree | Floral Designer: Bloomers Floral Design | Dress Store: Bride to Be Couture | Venue, Caterer & Lodging: The Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe
A Mountain Soiree in Lake Tahoe
Anne’s love of travel coupled beautifully with Pete’s adventurous spirit and their nautical themed wedding was a weather infused mountain soiree! The pouring rain was a happy welcome after Lake Tahoe had been engulfed in smoke from area fires burning all week. Many day-before and last-minute decisions were made. The entire ceremony and reception was rearranged and moved the night before! The couple was so happy to have an outdoor ceremony, and nobody would’ve guessed anything had been changed. The day was pulled off splendidly with a seamlessly amazing design team.
THE VENDOR TEAM: Photographer: Melina Wallisch Photography // Event Planner: Summit Soiree // Floral Designer: R. Jack Balthazar // Musicians: Brian Hess Music // Equipment Rentals: Classic Party Rentals // Caterer: D’Lish Catering // Venue: Thunderbird Lodge Historic Site
A Lake Tahoe Winter Wedding Soiree
From the bride, Kaleolani:
I knew I wanted a mountainous winter wedding. After checking out a few venues in Northern California, I decided to stop in Tahoe to see a few more. I immediately fell in love with everything. The view, the hotels, the skiing, the activities, the lake, the location to the airport, everything!
I chose a color palette of the dark greens of a forest or mountain, the white of the ski runs, and the golden glitter when the sun sets over the lake. I wanted the mountain cabin feel but at the 5 star resort level. 
Our ceremony was short and sweet and perfect. 
We nailed a wooden wine box shut. The box had a bottle of wine, love letters to each other, and advice cards from all the guests inside. The box is not to be opened for 10 years.
I hated how fast the night went by! And how Jose and I hardly had a moment to sit back and enjoy! Everyone wanted to take a picture, talk to us, sit with us, dance with us, drink with us! I wish it could have lasted longer.
Jose and I had been practicing a Viennese Waltz for almost a year. We were excited to finally perform! It was perfect and a surprise for most of the guests. 
My advice: Hire a wedding planner. My planner made my day perfect.
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: BTW Photography // Venue, Caterer, Lodging: Hyatt Regency Incline Village // Event Planner: Blue Sky Events // Band: The Mixx // Flowers & Linens: Thrans Flowers // Lighting: Celadon Events // Officiant: Dave Beronio // Favors: Howe House, custom Christmas bulbs // Hair & Makeup: Studio 89 Salon
A Winter Destination Wedding at Lake Tahoe
From the bride, Tara:
My husband, Wesley and I created our wedding vision as a team. We came to agreements, stayed up late working on projects, and traveled a lot to meet people and to make purchases, all while walking hand-in-hand.We chose to have our wedding at Lake Tahoe as we have created fond memories amongst most of Lake Tahoe’s shorelines and on the captivating water.
Being that our wedding was in November, we decided to go with fall tones of orange, plum, and lime green. Orange is my favorite color, so the color scheme was very fitting! 
We had personalized escort card coasters. Each coaster had a picture of the specific guest with either Wesley or I by their side and our wedding date printed on the bottom corner it was a great conversation starter for guests. 
Our decor consisted of mercury candle holders and vases, delicate crystal beads hanging off the branches that made up the centerpieces, crushed white tablecloths with burnt orange napkins, up-lighting on the walls, chocolate suede couches and benches to make the lounge areas. 
Tara’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Heidi Huber Photography // Venue: Hyatt Lake Tahoe // Floral Designer: Art in Bloom // Dress Store: Celebrations Bridal // Mens Attire: Men’s Warehouse // DJ: The DJ Mobile Entertainment // Jewelry: Tiffany & Co.
A Lake Tahoe Destination Wedding
From the photographer, Charlotte Allegra:
Melissa & Kasey met while traveling, and decided to incorporate their love for travel and beautiful places into a gorgeous destination wedding at Lake Tahoe. Pops of grey and yellow against the the famous “Tahoe-blue” made for stunning portraiture. Their love for travel was showcased in the details – the wedding tables were named for places they had traveled together. The groom’s ring was made with gold they had panned from the Yuba river. The bride’s love of design was showcased in the flower arrangements – specifically the boutonnieres, which she designed herself. The couple did not have a bridal party, because they felt that all of their guests were equally special to them. The intimate wedding was perfect. You could tell that everyone there had a great love for both the bride and groom, and each other.
THE VENDOR TEAM
Photographer: Charlotte Allegra Photography // Event Planner: Blue Sky Events & Destination Management // Floral Designer: Thran’s Flowers
Casual Elegance in Tahoe
Alison & Brian | April 5th | Squaw Valley, California
From the bride, Alison:
We love the mountains, skiing, and the beauty of Lake Tahoe and just wanted to share that with our family and friends. It’s a magical place. Our guests loved being in Tahoe and it was really important to us that our guests, most of whom traveled quite far to be with us, were happy and comfortable and having a good time.
It was a beautiful ceremony with the sun pouring in through the huge windows behind the altar, magical! 
After the ceremony we walked out of the church and Brian has a horse drawn sleigh waiting. I was completely surprised and it was so fun.
Our first dance song ended up being longer than we remembered, it was nice to have time together just laughing and dancing.
There was a lot of amazing dance moves being thrown around. Including a dance off to some Michael Jackson tunes, little cousins and older couples all doing the gangnam style, everyone was up out of the chairs and that is exactly what I wanted. I was on the dance team in college so having everyone on the dance floor made me really happy.
My advice: Don’t take wedding planning too seriously, everything will be perfect and the stuff that doesn’t get done probably wasn’t that important.
The day after our wedding instead of doing a brunch we decided to do an Après Ski at High Camp. We had snacks (soft pretzels, popcorn, cookies, etc) and an open bar with spiked hot cocoas. For the non-skiers we provided tram tickets so they could get up to high camp and a good number of people skied over. It was just perfect and relaxing. Some people brought their bathing suits and enjoyed the hot tubs as well. We really wanted all of our guests to experience the breath-taking views that High Camp offered so this was the perfect way to it.
Alison’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Ceremony Site: Queen of the Snows Catholic Church
Photographers: Annie X Photographie and Court Leve Photography. Annie and Court were amazing to work with! They did such a great job and they are just so fun. Most of the time you have no idea they are even there, but they still manage to capture all the wonderful moments. They are just awesome. I cant say enough about them. We were so happy to have them at our wedding.
Reception Site, Caterer, Lodging: Olympic Village Lodge at Squaw Valley. We loved the large windows and fireplace and the huge dance floor. The food was incredible, rave reviews from some very picky eaters. Jessie, the wedding coordinator was extremely helpful throughout the entire process.
Musicians: Brian Hess and Co // Rentals: Crux Events // Florist: Tahoe Flower Power // Photobooth & Video: Russell Brothers Productions // Hair: Danielle at Salon Bella Vita // Makeup: Jen at Kiss and Makeup // Invitations & Programs: Lauren M Design // Wedding Gown: Haley Paige, JLM Couture // Bridesmaid Dresses: JLM Couture // Men’s Wear: Indochino
Honeymoon Location: Harbour Island, Out Islands, Bahamas. Harbour Island is one of our most favorite places on earth.
Rustic Elegance in Tahoe
Maria & Ryan | October 20th | Lake Tahoe
From the bride, Maria:
There is something very special about a mountain destination wedding. Being outside in God’s nature and celebrating your love for one another creates a moment that you and your guests will forever remember. Ryan and I are high school sweethearts and had been dating for twelve years, so when it came to planning our wedding, we both knew we wanted to throw a great party that celebrated our love to one another throughout the years. Neither one of us likes being the center of attention, so we knew we wanted a smaller, more intimate wedding. With 75 guests in attendance, everyone was able to comfortably visit with one another while enjoying the beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Purchasing a Pronovias dress was a dream come true. I have always admired their dresses and picked mine out without even knowing the designer. It was meant to be.
Our ceremony was held under a grove of pine trees at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe. A beautiful birch arbor covered with vibrant flowers stood at the end of the aisle which was also covered with brightly covered rose petals. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect fall day. In fact, we were so lucky because no more than 48 hours later there was two feet of snow in the same location. 
Memorable Moment: Walking down the aisle with my father and looking at my husband for the first time.
Even though Ryan and I had been together for twelve years it was important that we said those vows to one another in front of the people we love. It was a very special moment. 
We wanted our wedding to reflect the natural beauty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Working with our florist, we incorporated lots of natural elements including birch covered vases, native manzanita trees as centerpieces and lots of gourds. The tables were decorated with birch vases, candles, gourds and manzanita trees, which our native to the area. It had a really classy, rustic feel.
My advice: Enjoy every minute of being engaged! It is truly a special and joyous time in your lives. Don’t stress the small things…something will inevitably go wrong, but the MOST important thing to remember is that at the end of the night you will be married, and that’s when the happily ever after starts. I also recommend giving yourself plenty of time to plan. We had almost a year to plan everything and it helped ease a lot of stress. Make sure to prioritize and don’t skimp on the details that are most important to you!
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Jessi LeMay Photography. Getting a good photographer is one of the best investments when planning a wedding. Jessi knew what our vision was and she did a great job.
Venue & Caterer: The Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful ceremony and reception site. Their customer service and professionalism was top notch. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect. Their on-site planner, Blanche Tabe, was the best. Professional, classy and a true joy to work with. Blache was always there to answer any questions and help me with last minute details.
Florist: Hattie Reed of Art in Bloom. Hattie is amazing. She knew what my vision was after meeting for only a few minutes. Opt for a floral designer instead of a cookie cutter florist. You may pay a little more but you will end up with a much more superior result.
Dress Store: Swoon Bridal Salon. Swoon is hands down the best bridal salon around. Michelle is amazing and has the best inventory. It was important for me to support local Reno businesses.
Honeymoon Location: North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii