A Love Story Tucked Into the Tahoe Mountains

There’s something about a Tahoe wedding that makes the whole experience feel a little more like an adventure. Towering pines, mountain air, quiet stretches of water, and the kind of scenery that makes you want to slow down and take it all in.

For couples traveling from out of town, Tahoe is also a beautiful place to turn your wedding into more than just one day. With so many places to stay and explore, your closest friends and family can make a weekend out of it, and your wedding can feel like a shared experience rather than simply an event everyone travels to and leaves from.

That’s exactly what made Tahoe such a fitting choice for Jason and Marina. They live in New York, but when it came time to choose where they wanted to get married, they found themselves drawn to Tahoe and its gorgeous mountain setting. Their wedding at White Wolf was intimate, adventurous, personal, and filled with the kind of moments you couldn't really plan for.

A Relaxed Morning With Their Favorite People

The morning started slow, relaxed, and full of love.

Jason and Marina got ready at separate Airbnbs with their wedding party members. The girls' morning was full of dancing around in their pajamas, stretching, and coming up with funny names for each stretch. “Reaching for the bread” may be one of my personal favorites. There was also a champagne toast that didn't quite go according to plan when one of the bottles accidentally sprayed a bridesmaid. But instead of ruining the moment, it turned into exactly the kind of memory everyone will probably remember for years. The guys kept things a little more casual, hanging out and having a drink here and there while getting ready.

For couples planning a destination wedding in Tahoe, staying in separate or nearby Airbnbs can be a great way to make the morning feel more relaxed. It gives each side of the wedding party their own space to get ready, hang out, and enjoy the anticipation without immediately jumping into the day's timeline.

And if you're planning a mountain wedding, I'd always recommend giving yourself a little more time than you think you'll need. Between getting ready, traveling between locations, and navigating mountain roads, a few extra minutes can make the entire day feel much less rushed.

Making Our Way Up the Mountain

For the trip to the venue, I (Rebecca) drove Marina while my second shooterBailey drove Jason, and we met up at White Wolf for their first look. One of the fun things about White Wolf is that getting up the mountain is part of the experience. When we arrived, the owner drove us up in the back of the venue's specially crafted guest truck. It's made for transporting guests up the mountain, but it also happens to make for a pretty memorable way to arrive.

Their first look took place with beautiful, towering stone walls behind them before we continued into the forest for portraits.

If you're considering a mountain venue, it's worth asking about transportation and access when you're building your timeline. A venue can look close on a map but take considerably longer to reach once you're navigating mountain roads or property access. At White Wolf, the journey up is built into the experience, which makes it feel like part of the day rather than simply getting from point A to point B.

First Looks, Forest Portraits & a Little Dance Practice

After their first look, we wandered into the forest for some portraits. White Wolf gives you so much variety without having to spend your entire day driving around for different backdrops. The towering trees, stone walls, mountain landscape, and lake all give you something different while still keeping you connected to the feeling of the venue. Jason and Marina also used this time to practice their first dance, which gave us some fun in between moments before the ceremony. And, of course, we had to get the iconic shot of them sitting in the back of the truck before making our way back down.

One thing I always encourage couples to do is leave a little breathing room in their photography timeline. You don't need to spend hours taking formal portraits, but having some time to wander, practice your first dance, take in the scenery, or simply be together can create some of the most meaningful images from the day.

A Personal Ceremony by the Lake

Their ceremony took place with the little lake as their backdrop, underneath a beautiful Jewish huppah. Jason and Marina come from different religious backgrounds, and they weren't initially sure which traditions they wanted to incorporate into their ceremony. Rather than trying to choose one path completely, they ultimately found a place somewhere in the middle.

The result was a ceremony that felt personal to both of them.

And I think that's one of the best things about planning a wedding. You don't have to include something simply because it's traditional or expected. You can take the pieces that actually mean something to you and create a ceremony that reflects the two of you.

For couples dreaming of an outdoor Tahoe ceremony, it's also worth keeping the mountain environment in mind when planning your day. Weather can change quickly in the mountains, even during warmer months, so having some flexibility in your timeline and a backup plan for outdoor elements is always smart. And don't forget that temperatures can drop once the sun goes down—especially if you're planning to spend the evening outside.

Cocktails, Color & Some Very Cute Guests

Cocktail hour brought even more color and personality into the day. Guests gathered among the trees, the music was going, and then there were the alpacas. Yes, alpacas. They were brought in to serve drinks and were easily some of the cutest and most unexpected guests of the day. They were such a fun addition to cocktail hour and gave everyone something to smile about.

This was one of those details that felt so true to Jason and Marina. Their wedding wasn't about trying to recreate someone else's idea of what a wedding should look like. They found ways to make the day playful, personal, and completely their own.

And that's something I love about intimate weddings. When you're celebrating with a smaller group, there can be more room to incorporate the weird, fun, sentimental, or unexpected things that actually make you who you are.

Personal Details Around the Dinner Table

Their reception details followed that same idea. The tablescapes were simple and personal, with each table named after something meaningful to Jason and Marina, a place they had visited together, something they loved, or a chapter from their lives.

For couples planning a destination wedding, these kinds of details can be a beautiful way to bring your story into the day. Your guests may have traveled a long way to celebrate with you, so giving them little pieces of your relationship to discover throughout the wedding makes the experience feel even more personal.

Jason and Marina also gave a beautiful welcome speech, thanking their guests and family and sharing a little bit about their story. And they were unapologetic about taking their time with it. As Marina said, “It’s their wedding.” And honestly, she was right. It was their day, and they were going to enjoy every second of it.

After a few beautiful toasts from family and an absolutely delicious dinner, Jason and Marina used the shotski their guests signed as part of the couple's guestbook. It was another small detail that was both personal and fun, and very fitting for the rest of the evening.

Making Time for an Adventure

After dinner, we pulled Jason and Marina away for some time alone. They're quite the adventurous couple, so we wanted to bring a little piece of that into their wedding day. Rather than simply walking through the forest for more portraits, they took a canoe out onto the water and made a few laps. For a few minutes, it was just the two of them.

They laughed, shared a few cheers, and enjoyed some time together while their guests watched from the shore. Once everyone spotted them out on the water, cheers started coming from the shore, too. It was one of my favorite parts of the day, not only because the images were beautiful, but because it felt completely like them.

If you're planning a Tahoe wedding, this is something I'd encourage you to think about when creating your timeline: What do you actually love doing together?

If you're an adventurous couple, go on an adventure. If you love being on the water, get on the water. If you love hiking, take a walk together. Your wedding day doesn't have to be a series of traditional wedding activities from beginning to end. Some of the best memories can come from simply doing something that feels like you.

A First Dance & a Very Full Dance Floor

Jason and Marina had a coordinated first dance complete with a few seriously impressive, wow factor moves. And once they opened the dance floor, it stayed full for the rest of the night. There wasn't a single moment when people weren't out there dancing, celebrating, and having the best time.

After a day spent surrounded by mountains, trees, water, family, and friends, it felt like the perfect way to end the night.

A Tahoe Wedding That Was Completely Theirs

From pajamas and “reaching for the bread” to an accidental champagne shower, a mountain truck ride, alpacas, a lakefront ceremony, and a canoe adventure after dinner, Jason and Marina's wedding was full of the kind of moments you simply can't manufacture.

It was personal. It was adventurous. It was a little unexpected. Most importantly, it was completely theirs.

That's one of my favorite things about photographing weddings in Tahoe. The landscape is already incredible, but the couples who choose to get married here get to decide what they want to do with it. Your wedding can be intimate and quiet, adventurous and playful, traditional or completely outside the box.

You can spend the morning with your closest friends, say your vows surrounded by the forest, take portraits beside the lake, sneak away for an adventure together, and end the night with everyone you love on the dance floor.

You just have to leave a little room for the day to unfold. And sometimes, those are the moments you'll remember most.