Bria & Jason: A PlumpJack Resort Wedding at Squaw Valley

Inflatable air guitars. Viking helmets. Hot dog hats. When it comes to partying like rockstars, many of us would do well to follow the example set by Bria, Jason and their wedding guests. This PlumpJack Resort wedding at Squaw Valley had to be one of the most fun celebrations of the summer. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would.

Bria and Jason currently live in San Francisco, but find themselves adventuring in the Sierras often enough that a Lake Tahoe wedding made perfect sense. To honor both of their families’ traditions, a multi-faith ceremony also made sense. Reverend Keith Hohly and Rabbi Mikki Bourne teamed up and created a wonderful ceremony that featured rites from two different traditions, celebrating the shared spiritual aspects of both.

A celebration like this doesn’t happen on its own. Many thanks to Tory Wilson at Summit Soiree for her planning and coordination talent. Lake Tahoe florist Julie Matises raised the bar yet again with her bouquets, boutonnieres and floral arrangements. As for the reception, it wouldn’t have been the party animal it was without the band Jumpstart. These folks were some of the best I’ve wiggled my booty to seen. And last but not least, thanks to Anne Williams for shooting with me.

Bria and Jason, your wedding was simply awesome. Thank you for your warmth, your laid back attitude and your requirement that “FUN” always be at the top of the to-do list!

 

Plumpjack bride's blue wedding shoes.Bride getting ready at the Plumpjack Squaw ValleyFlower girl eating a grilled cheese sandwich at the Plumpjack Squaw Valley.Groom getting ready at the Plumpjack.Bride looking at herself in the mirror.

Photograph below by Anne Williams

Flower girl watching a bridesmaid before the wedding.

Photograph below by Anne Williams

Groom buttoning his shirt in one of the Plumpjack suites.Yellow, orange and purple flowers for a Lake Tahoe Wedding.

Photograph below by Anne Williams

Bride and groom in Olympic Valley.

String beings violinist playing for the plumpjack wedding.Groomsmen flowers by Tahoe Florist Julie Matises. Bride and father of the bride at the Plumpjack.Groom holding the brides wedding ring.Table settings at the Plumpjack Squaw Valley.Father of the bride making a toast.Bridesmaid making a toast at the Plumpjack Squaw Valley.Bride and groom during toasts.Groom making a toast at the reception. Playing the inflatable guitar at the reception.Bridesmaid singing along with the band.Bride and groom dancing at the reception.

 

 

Weddings in Lake Tahoe are a specialty for this Tahoe Wedding Photographer, as are weddings at Squaw Valley, weddings at Northstar Resort, weddings at Edgewood Tahoe, Resort at Squaw Creek weddings and  Lake Tahoe Ritz Carlton Highlands weddings.

Emily - That was the best wedding ever!!!! I love reliving the weekend looking at the amazing photos you took, Chris. Thank you for including us in the celebration of your life together, Jason and Bria! We love you guys! Em and JoeyNovember 7, 2011 – 7:43 pm

Amy Grigsby - Gar Woods hosted their rehearsal dinner! Thank you for sharing- the wedding pictures came out beautiful. Congratulations Jason & Bria!November 7, 2011 – 6:02 pm

Megan & Ken: A Yosemite Valley Wedding

Megan and Ken’s wedding was a rare treat. For starters, it’s not often I get asked to photograph a wedding in Yosemite National Park. When I met them in June for their Yosemite engagement session, Megan and Ken shared some of the plans for their celebration. One detail that stood out was their cake. They were carefully planning to bake and decorate their entire wedding cake themselves. They had done a trial run already, and had brought a sample along to see how it would fare on the long drive up from Southern California. Having tasted the test run, I couldn’t wait to taste see the final product.

The day began and ended at the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, just outside the park’s entrance. Wedding guests rode tour buses into the Valley, gathering at the Yosemite Valley Chapel. This New England style church was built in 1879 and celebrated it’s 132nd birthday this past June. The chapel is used regularly for weddings, but also serves the residents of Yosemite with regular services year-round.

The reception at the Tenaya Lodge was fully decked out with the same Fall colors they used to decorate the cake. Once the sun had set and dinner had been served, guests gathered around an outdoor fire to roast marshmallows and make s’mores. Nick from AMS Entertainment kept the dance floor busy and inspired the inevitable migration of wacky photobooth costumes onto the dance floor.

A special thanks goes out to Santa Barbara wedding photographer Bernd Zeugswetter for making the journey to photograph this wedding with me.

Megan and Ken, Congratulations on your wedding, and thank your for the honor of photographing your wedding day in such a spectacular place!

 

Bride getting ready at Tenaya Lodge

Photograph below by Bernd Zeugswetter

Groom buttoning his shirt.Bride getting ready at the Tenaya LodgePutting on the bride's dress. Bride with her maid of honor. Bride with her wedding dress and veil onBride walking out of the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.Bride and father of the bride looking out the window of the car. Yosemite Valley photographBride getting his boutonniere.

Photograph below by Bernd Zeugswetter

Bride and father of the bride walking down the aisle. Wedding ceremony inside the Yosemite Valley ChapelWedding guest photographing the wedding ceremony in Yosemite.Groom putting the bride's wedding ring on her hand. Groom and bride after saying their vows.

Photograph below by Bernd Zeugswetter

Bride and groom greet their wedding guests. Bride holding hands with the groom. Bridesmaid holding the bride's veil.

Photograph below by Bernd Zeugswetter

Bride laughing after the wedding ceremony.Bride and groom kissing on Sentinel Bridge.First dance photograph of the bride and groom .

 

 

Chris Werner is a Yosemite wedding photographer who is available for Ahwahnee weddings, Tenaya Lodge weddings, weddings in Yosemite Valley, Sierra Meadows Country Club weddings, Pines Resort weddings and weddings at the Blue Heron.

 

Abby Rocha - What a great job capturing the joy and magic of the weeding. Stunning!November 20, 2011 – 10:51 am

Joy Thomson - What a gorgeous wedding! Megan you look stunning. and I love the back detail of your dress :) November 19, 2011 – 7:11 am

Kazue McGregor - Your photos of Megan and Ken’s wedding are AMAZING!November 18, 2011 – 10:40 pm

Brandie - Very pretty!November 18, 2011 – 7:40 pm

Kelly Trimble - These are beautiful, I’m so glad you were able to capture how stunning and happy Megan looked!November 18, 2011 – 7:25 pm

Kat Rowley - Stunning. I wish I could have been there. You look beautiful Megan!November 18, 2011 – 6:16 pm

Ben Werner - Incredible. How do you pull it off every time?October 29, 2011 – 1:58 pm

Cherie McGrath - Nice to view the preview of Megan and Ken’s wedding. Some interesting shots. Looking forward to seeing all the pictures that you will post.October 29, 2011 – 12:31 pm

Tracey & Paschco: A Colorado Wedding at Snowmass Ski Resort

Tracey and Paschco’s wedding was an Aspen mountain celebration as authentic as they come. Tracey’s parents own Gwyn’s High Alpine restaurant at Snowmass ski resort. Having grown up on these ski slopes, pictures of Tracey and her sister Whitney in bright ski suits line the walls of the restaurant. When you walk onto Gwyn’s sundeck, you feel like you are in the heart of Colorado’s Rocky mountains. When you step inside and start to look around, you feel like you are seeing into the heart of a family whose children have been raised, quite literally, with skis attached to their feet.

A mid-mountain Snowmass wedding is essentially unheard of; bringing Gwyn’s to life during the summer could only happen for an event like this. With wedding guests arriving by chairlift, Tracey and Paschco were married in a truly unique setting. The ceremony was followed by a reception at the Viceroy Snowmass Mountain Resort in Snowmass Village.

This wedding had a special twist for me. My girlfriend, Heidi, grew up with Tracey and Whitney. Tracey had asked her to be in the wedding party, and Heidi was one of the bridesmaids during the wedding.

Tracey and Paschco, you created an awesome day for everyone. It was an honor to photograph such a rare and special event!

Aspen Bride getting ready.

 

 

Aspen wedding and Snowmass wedding photographer Chris Werner documents outdoor weddings at both Aspen ski resort and Snowmass ski resort. He is based in Lake Tahoe, California.

Megan & Kris: A Mountain Chateau Wedding in Colorado

When Megan contacted me over a year ago to discuss wedding photography, I knew I was about to meet a seriously organized bride. When we got together in person, I realized that Megan was a bride with as much warmth and enthusiasm as vision and foresight.

Clipboards, post-it notes, and  highlighters can sometimes become more of a burden than benefit when planning a big celebration. Not in this case. Megan and Kris were simply planning the wedding of their dreams. In an attempt to do justice to the thought, care and inspiration behind Megan and Kris’ Colorado wedding, I’m handing the mic over to Megan…

WHERE WAS IT?

We decided on Della Terra Mountain Chateau in Estes Park, CO because of the rustic feel. We also loved that it was in Rocky Mountain National Forest so we could get the great pictures with the Rockies as our back drop.

THEME OR STYLE:

I wanted everyone to enjoy the beautiful views of Colorado, so we tried to keep with a forest or mountain theme.

BRIDE’S DRESS:

I wanted a spanish style dress with a romantic feel. It took about three shopping trips before I found the one and I fell in love with the designer Paloma Blanca and found my dream dress in their collection.

BRIDE’S SHOES:

I wanted my something blue to be in my shoes (I was inspired by Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolo Blahnik’s) I searched everywhere and finally found a sparkly pair at DSW made by one of my favorite shoe designers Poetic License.

JEWELERY/ACCESSORIES:

I never wear much jewelry so I wanted to keep the look simple on the wedding day wearing only what my groom had purchased for me. My diamond studs were the first jewelry he had given me along with my engagement ring and wedding band.

HAIR & MAKEUP:

I found a great hair and makeup team out of Denver called Aphrodite Affairs. They were so kind and even fixed my botched manicure for me.

GROOMSMEN:

Our groomsmen are our closest friends and family. They have known the groom since elementary school or younger and the bride since middle school. Needless to say we are blessed to have met our best friends young in life.

WEDDING FAVORS:

We decided instead of doing a physical favor that we would donate to a cause near to our hearts. My brother is a marine who has served our country for 8 years now. His multiple deployments leave his family to continue life without his support at home. We wanted to give to a charity that would help both the soldiers and their families during these deployments. The charity we chose was Operation Home Front.

THE FLOWERS AND CAKE:

I found my florist through craigslist funny enough…I wanted a fall look and nothing that would take away from me or my girls. CG Blume did our cake and flowers and I loved the rustic look of my cake! Our flowers had just enough purple and orange to pull all my colors together at the wedding. Another great bonus with this company is the more you order through them the bigger discount they give you! I ended up paying less for my dj, cake and flowers than I would have for just flowers had I gone to a local florist.

INVITATIONS & STATIONERY:

I found my invitations and save the dates online at magnetstreet.com, they sent me a package of samples and they were reasonably priced. For our day of stationary I love to craft so I made all the stationery from the programs to the place cards. I spent many hours and dollars at Hobby Lobby.

FOOD & DRINK:

We love to eat and drink so we wanted our guests to be taken care of and feel at home. Jubilations Catering catered the wedding. Their food was delicious and they put a spin on everyday food. Jubilations is only a few minutes from the venue so they brought everything up fresh and hot. Our drinks were provided by Della Terra and their staff did a great job of keeping everyone’s glasses full!

THE HONEYMOON:

We took our dream trip to Hawaii. First we started on Oahu where we stayed in the oldest resort on Waikiki Beach called the Moana Surfrider. There we enjoyed the beach and ocean front dinning at the Beach House. We also toured Pearl Harbor and soaked in the history. After Oahu we flew over to Kauai. On Kauai we hiked, kayaked, snorkeled and toured the island by helicopter. It was the best trip to date for both of us and we are already planning a trip back to the islands!

A MEMORABLE MOMENT:

Our most memorable moment of the day was toward the end of the night. Our friends had started to make a circle while guests showed off their moves in the middle. When we busted into the middle of the circle to dance together we got a glimpse of each of our friends smiling and celebrating the new life we have begun…It was a priceless moment and we felt all the love in the room!

 

 

Bride getting ready.Bride's something blue wedding shoesBride before the ceremony.Bride writing her vows in front of her wedding dress.Guests arrive at the mountain chateau for the wedding.Bride putting on her wedding dress.Bride finishes putting on her wedding dress.Bride looks at the back of her wedding dress in the mirror.Groom at the ceremony site waiting for his bride to arrive.Groom's boutonniere.

Bride and father of the bride walking down the aisle.

Photo below by Mallory Olenius

Bride sees her husband to be for the first time after the father of the bride walks her down the aisle.Purple Bridesmaid dresses.Groom smiling at his bride during the wedding ceremony.Bridesmaid and junior bridesmaid flower girl flowers.

Photo below by Mallory Olenius

Wedding guests photographing the ceremony.Bridesmaid wipes a tear from her eye.

Photo below by Mallory Olenius

Photo below by Mallory OleniusWedding rings: bride and groom holding hands.

Photo below by Mallory Olenius

Wedding reception table settings

Artistic wedding photography of bride and groom

 

Chris Werner is a Lake Tahoe Wedding photographer who specializes in Lake Tahoe weddings, weddings in South Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes weddings and outdoor mountain wedding photography.

Erin McKee - These pictures are amazing!!!! I love all the expressions they capture, brings back brilliant memories of such a special day :) . Cant wait to see the rest!October 14, 2011 – 11:12 am

Lindy Pape - Love my family. Wish we could have been there for this special day but the pictures do plenty of justice. Megan you are stunning and Kris your one lucky dude. Love you both. Welcome to the family Kris.October 14, 2011 – 5:25 am

Mallory Olenius - Beautiful job Chris!! My favs are the mom and bridesmaids reaction after she put dress on, the veil kiss shot, and you just nailed the dancing photos! On fire. You guys were awesome Megan and Kris!October 12, 2011 – 5:40 pm

Amy Swanson - The pictures are all beautiful, it was such a great time, and can not wait to see the rest of the pictures.October 12, 2011 – 3:58 pm

Tiffany - Beautiful pictures Meg I love them!!!!October 12, 2011 – 2:12 pm

Kristi - Love this site! Great pictures of a Gorgeous Bride!!October 12, 2011 – 2:05 pm

Toni - It was such a beautiful day. The Photos are amazing, I saw him wander and climb and get in the most unusual spaces, can’t wait to see the rest.October 12, 2011 – 1:42 pm

Ben Werner - You did it again – nice!October 12, 2011 – 1:34 pm

kate - Those pictures are awesome! So lovely!October 12, 2011 – 12:50 pm

Marnie - B.E.A.UTIFUL! It was such a wonderful day and I’m so happy to see you have such beautiful pictures to remember it with!October 12, 2011 – 12:47 pm

Tina Glasser - Beautiful!October 12, 2011 – 12:37 pm

Meca - Wow! So beautiful. I love the perspective that the photographer took in all of the photo’s so amazing!October 12, 2011 – 11:33 am

Amy Melany - Amazing photos. Your wedding was a memorable day and it looks like your photographer did an outstanding job at capturing the memories!October 12, 2011 – 11:24 am

Franky - Megan and Kris the photos look GREAT! What a beautiful bride you were Megan:) Love the blue shoes!!October 12, 2011 – 11:14 am

Mandy Heil - Kris and Megan, stunning pictures. It almost feels like we were there! :) We love you so much and can’t wait to see all of the pictures, but most of all we can’t wait to see you two! Miss you!October 12, 2011 – 11:06 am

Hallie - Great pictures Megan!! What a beautiful day :) congratulations!!!October 12, 2011 – 10:38 am

April - Megan, wow you look awesome! It’s been a long time, but I just saw this link on facebook and had to comment. Love these:)October 12, 2011 – 10:29 am

Liz - Wow, beauitful pictures! Looks like such a wonderful day! Congrats!!October 12, 2011 – 10:07 am

Stephanie Rust - Absolutely gorgeous images!October 12, 2011 – 9:57 am

Nick Pape - The Photos look GREAT! I wish I could have been there to share in the day with my Big Sister. She and Kris have made a great couple from the start, Im happy to see they had an amazing day and had a great photogopher to capture it for them.

Nick PapeOctober 12, 2011 – 9:43 am

Rachel & Jim: A Celebration of Love, Mountains and Music

Sierra rainstorms have a a way of washing the mountain landscape clean, making way for clear vistas, alpine adventures and new beginnings. Not sure if the weather gods would cooperate with their wedding plans, Rachel and Jim bided their time until the moment was right. As prayer flags fluttered in the post-monsoon breeze, friends and family gathered under clearing skies in support of one of the Eastside’s most joyous celebrations of the summer.

Many Californians know this part of the Sierra range for Mammoth Mountain, a popular getaway for skiing and fly fishing. Just south of the Mammoth Lakes area, the Convict Lake Resort offers a secluded escape that most folks unknowingly pass by as they head north on route 395. If you take the time to head into these hills, you’re quickly rewarded with an alpine setting that feels a world away.

Rachel and Jim, you clearly share a very rare connection that is respected and admired by those who know you best. Thank you for the honor of photographing your wedding!

 

bride's wedding shoesBride getting hair and makeup done before the ceremonyConvict Lake groom before getting married at the resortMammoth Lakes bride contemplates her wedding dressPutting on the wedding dress at the Convict Lake ResortLake side wedding in the Eastern SierraWedding guests arrive at the Convict Lake ResortWedding  ceremony programFlower girl and ring bearer at Mammoth Lakes weddingFather of the bride and mother of the brideBridesmaids and wedding bouquetsThe Ceremony site at the Convict Lake ResortPutting on the wedding ringBride and groom at the ceremony siteFlower girl peeking at the bride and groomWedding table decorationsBride and groom's first dance at the receptionMaid of honor's speech at the wedding receptionDancing and partying at the wedding party reception

 

A Mammoth Lakes wedding photographer, Chris Werner specializes in outdoor mountain weddings at all Eastern Sierra wedding venues; The Westin Monache  Resort, Convict Lake Resort, Forest Chapel, Top of Mammoth Mountain, Top of the Sierra, McCoy Sundeck, Mill Sundeck, Dry Creek Sundeck, Sierra Star Golf Course, Minaret Vista and June Meadow Chalet Overlook.

Doug Perry - These capture the moments beautifully!October 6, 2011 – 9:44 pm

Ben Werner - Can hardly believe how amazing these are – each image captures something real, emotionally tangible, moving. I’ve had this thought over your last few posts…October 1, 2011 – 10:30 pm

Tamara Crosby - Looks great!! I think the flower girl is especially cute!!!October 1, 2011 – 8:44 am

Christine Crosby - these are SOOOO beautiful!! you guys look so at peace, ease and bliss!! just gorgeous!! congrats!! you deserve ALL the best!!October 1, 2011 – 8:01 am

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