If you love the great outdoors and want to connect your lives in a place of nature and serenity, a Lake Tahoe elopement can be the ideal option. As an experienced destination wedding and elopement photographer, I can attest that Lake Tahoe is one of the best places on earth to tie the knot.
One of the aspects of Lake Tahoe that I love the most is that every day is unique, and you never know quite what to expect. On one day, the clouds will brush over the mountains, creating glorious shadows on the lake and trees below. On another day, the azure water will sparkle as it’s warmed by the sun ray’s or perhaps wisps of snow will churn through the area, creating a true winter wonderland. Lake Tahoe is a four-season paradise that abounds in natural beauty.
Lake Tahoe Elopements Vs. Traditional Weddings
Through the years, I have been privileged to capture hundreds of couples as they join their lives together. While any type of wedding can be beautiful and meaningful, I truly believe that elopements provide you with the most profound experience.
With a Lake Tahoe elopement, you can avoid all of the stress and strain of planning a wedding and focus on the joy of the occasion. When it’s just the two of you (and perhaps a few close friends or family members), you can relax and just be yourself and take it all in.
With a traditional wedding, couples often spend their day obligated to chat with guests or shuffling from the ceremony to the photos to the reception to the cake cutting in a set schedule. And there’s no getting around the fact that plenty of us have family relationships and even friendships that can be, shall we say, tinged with drama. An elopement allows you to avoid the drama, and just enjoy the day.
Of course, there’s also the fact that a Lake Tahoe elopement costs substantially less than a Lake Tahoe wedding or even just a wedding in your hometown. The average wedding costs about $20,000 (and often much more) and that doesn’t include the cost of the honeymoon.
With a destination elopement, you can combine the cost of the honeymoon and the ceremony and photography and still keep costs well below the price of a typical wedding. When you consider the price, the convenience and the lack of stress, an elopement just makes good sense, and it can be every bit as memorable as a traditional wedding.
Lake Tahoe Elopement Packages
Many people will search for Lake Tahoe elopement packages, and you definitely will find a few options out there. However, elopements are so easy to plan that you don’t really need to worry about finding an elopement package. As your destination wedding photographer, we can simply discuss some possible photography and ceremony sites and then all that you have to do is pick a figure out the license, pick a date, select an officiant and you are all set.
There’s no need to search for Lake Tahoe elopement packages because it’s simple enough to plan on your own and quickly. Presently, the State of California allows you to obtain your wedding license online, which makes the process easy for California residents, but also for those who live elsewhere and are planning a destination elopement or destination wedding.
You also have the option of marrying across the border in Nevada, in which case you would need to apply for the license in person in Incline Village or Reno. Neither California nor Nevada requires blood tests or a waiting period for receiving your license, although in California you will need to mail in your license within 90 days of issuance, and in Nevada, within a year of the issuance date.
When it comes to the officiant, many individuals are licensed to conduct wedding ceremonies in Lake Tahoe and Incline Village. You can find them via a simple internet search, or you can even ask a friend or beloved family member to serve as your officiant. Anyone (18 or older) who wishes to perform a wedding ceremony (in either California or Nevada) can become ordained almost instantly through the Universal Life Church at https://www.ulc.org/.
The most challenging aspect of planning a Lake Tahoe elopement is finding an amazing spot for your wedding photography. However, you don’t need to find Lake Tahoe elopement packages to find that perfect spot, you just need an experienced adventure wedding photographer.
Fortunately, not only have I enjoyed more than 10 years of residence in Lake Tahoe, I also have shot an abundance of Lake Tahoe elopements and Lake Tahoe weddings. I have spent weeks exploring the wilderness in and around Lake Tahoe and can find cozy spots in the woods, secluded lakeside settings away from the crowds and mountaintop locations with awe-inspiring views.
And, if you truly want an adventure elopement, I am up for anything. We can hike, ski, mountain bike or kayak to just about any remote location and I know quite a few. Whether you want to keep it simple or pack up your wedding clothes and hike out to an amazing locale, I can make it happen. In many cases, we hold a quick ceremony is an easy (yet scenic) spot for the officiant, and then trek out to complete your wedding photography.
Once we finish the photography, we can head back into town and enjoy some craft beer or a glass of champagne or you can head off for your own adventure, just the two of you. Lake Tahoe offers a wide selection of amazing hotels, cabins, camping spots and rental homes, where you can enjoy an adventure-filled honeymoon.
If you are planning a Lake Tahoe elopement, give me a call at any time and let’s start brainstorming some photography ideas. In addition to Lake Tahoe, I also can provide photography for a Yosemite wedding or elopement, a Mammoth wedding or elopement or perhaps a Telluride wedding or even something in the Pacific Northwest or along the California coast. Give me a sense of your wedding wishes, and I will strive to make those dreams a reality.