Are you sitting down? No? Well, take a seat, sit back and relax as I show you one of my most favorite weddings of the year! I’m going to try and not to ramble on and on about this one, but it was some of the best days of my whole summer so I just can’t help it. First of all, before this trip, I had never been to Lake Tahoe. How could I have lived in SoCal for so long and NOT been to this place???!! From my first view of the lake (the first photo below), I fell in love. Being from the Pacific Northwest, this place was a dream and I couldn’t have been happier to participate in such a wonderful celebration. Secondly, this special group of people have been like family to me for so many years ever since Shane and I met in college. I’ve traveled to far off places with Shane & her family so it was only fitting to spend a few days in paradise with them once again. When you last saw Shane, it was in Seattle for her wedding on Bainbridge Island! Click HERE for that lovely day. That is ALSO where you first saw Andy & Alycia! You see, Andy is Shane’s little brother and once I met Alycia at the Seattle wedding, we started chatting about her wedding. The location hadn’t been decided yet, so we talked about a winter wedding in Washington or Oregon and then talks began about a summer wedding in Lake Tahoe. Obviously, Lake Tahoe (Edgewood Tahoe to be exact) was decided upon and I was hired! About a year ago, we shot their engagement session in Portland. Remember this brewery rooftop session??

Okay, let’s get started! Andy & Alycia are two loving, loyal and passionate people who have friends and family just like them to celebrate with. The day before the wedding, Alycia’s family set up the welcome dinner and created an authentic Italian feast for everyone in attendance. My mouth is watering just thinking about all the delicious food they spent all day preparing for all the guests and sharing family traditions which made everyone feel at home. Here are a few snapshots of the pre-wedding festivities…

Herriott10 copy Herriott9 copy Herriott008 copy

And NOW for the gorgeous wedding day! I just can’t get over how beautiful Lake Tahoe is and what a gorgeous setting for a wedding!! It was a TAD windy by the water, but luckily it calmed down as the day went on.

Herriott091 copy Herriott8 copy Herriott7 copy

The boys out chopping down trees (not really, they were already on the ground) before the ceremony…which you will see the reason for it in a few…

Untitled-1 copy

Alycia is STUNNING!!!

Did I mention how windy it was?? 🙂

Herriott6 copy Herriott5 copy Herriott267 copy Herriott4 copy

A perfect setting for a ceremony at Edgewood Tahoe!

The only *slight* (wink, wink) disagreement in this family is their allegiance to their respective Pac-12 universities. Andy is a Husky from the University of Washington and Alycia is a Duck from the University of Oregon (GO DUCKS!). They are definitely a house divided when their two schools face each other, but this “division” was played out as a unifying event during the ceremony (an Italian family tradition). Andy’s dad painted an old saw to represent both schools which they used to saw the log (the one chopped down by the boys earlier) together! It was one of the most unique things I’ve seen during any ceremony and it was awesome. Loved it!

MARRIED!!!

Herriott2 Herriott3 copy

Little did I know, Andy had a pretty big surprise in store for Alycia for their first dance. One of their favorite country singers is Lee Brice and Andy happens to have a best friend with some Nashville connections. So during his bachelor party weekend a few months prior (in Nashville), he (with the help of his connections) was able to get Lee Brice in studio to sing “Crazy Girl”. They recorded this performance and played it during the first dance. Needless to say, Alycia was pleasantly surprised and was serenaded by Mr. Brice! It was a beautiful moment and definitely something they will never forget.

Just before sunset, we snuck out of the reception for a few minutes. I HAD to get some of these tall tall trees in their photos! And I think they turned out just fine. 😉

Good night, Lake Tahoe. You are breathtaking.

Herriott600 copy

Alycia & Andy – THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for having me photograph your wedding festivities. It was such an amazing few days and I wish we could have stayed there forever! 🙂 Congratulations to you both and I hope to see you again soon! Hey, where are those pics of Greece!!! 🙂