Weddings
Robin & Mitch
Ceremony: Regan Beach
Reception: Edgewood Golf Course
Photographer: Scott Sady Photography
The Brief:
- The bride and groom lived in Lahaina, Maui throughout the planning period of their wedding.
- Blue Sky’s initial contact with Robin and Mitch came through local refferals to the bride’s parents, who own a vacation home in Lake Tahoe.
- We were contracted to coordinate The Essentials with additional hourly consulting necessary to coordinate this elaborate event.
The Planning:
- Blue Sky was hired the year prior to the wedding to assist and refer ceremony locations and vendor selections.
- Beyond The Essentials, Blue Sky assisted with design and table creation. We collaborated with several specialty linen companies to find table linens to match the bride’s style and color choice.
- The outdoor lakeside ceremony required a sound system, so we sourced and utilized a specialty battery powered sound system due to lack of facilities and electricity onsite.
The Result:
- As quoted by the bride “a spectacular and perfect day” with the ceremony on the lake’s shore and the reception at the elegant Edgewood Golf Course! Blue Sky worked in close communication with the family to bring together every detail including: the rehearsal, transportation, itineraries, onsite hair and make up, pre-ceremony photos, flowers, music, and more. The wedding came to a close with an emotional exchange of words and tearful eyes of joy with the family. It was truly a pleasure to be a part of this spectacular day!
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Andrea & Jim
Ceremony: Top of the Tram at Heavenly Mountain
Reception: Top of the Tram at Heavenly Mountain
Photographer: Focustahoe Photography
The Brief:
- The Bride and Groom both live in Florida. They had never visited Lake Tahoe and put all their trust in the wedding coordinator to plan the destination wedding of their dreams!
- Blue Sky was contracted for Full Service Wedding Coordination and didn’t meet the couple in person until the week of their wedding.
- The couple wanted to plan a week long destination wedding event to involve all of their friends and family.
The Planning:
- The planning evolved through a lot of communications with conference calls, emails, and décor presentations sent through the mail and electronically.
- With the aid of Thrans Flowers, we designed the wedding colors around a beautiful green gem stone necklace gifted by the groom for the bride to wear on their wedding day. The bride also told us she liked the Brocade look of an invitation she had chosen.
- The Matron of Honor had a lot of input on the colors, the design, and the entire planning process.
- Blue Sky provided custom designed stationary including: activity cards, escort cards, menu’s and programs.
The Result:
- An entire week of fun for the guests at the destination wedding, including private cruise dinner party, daily morning yoga on the beach, custom welcome bags delivered to each guests room, fly fishing tour, pampering at the spa, and days soaking in the LakeTahoe sun at their hotels private beach! Oh, and of course a beautiful Mountain Top Wedding!
The aisle runner was hand painted with a brocade design and the couples monogram. It was lined with tall black candle stands, including the green floating orchids that flowed through the receptions décor. There was private tram service to a ceremony at 9000 feet overlooking Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains.
- The soft sounds of Anne Roos playing live harp complimented the plated dinner reception. The exquisite brocade design ran through the event from the linens to the cake design and specialty chargers and glassware. As a wedding favor to their guest the couple had renowned Norman Love candies custom designed and placed at each table setting.
- The evening continued with a live band, a conga line dancing through the lodge, late night snacks and cupcakes (which excited the kids), and ended with a moonlight tram ride down the mountain!
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Sabrina & Federico
Ceremony: Edgewood Golf Course – Lake Tahoe, NV
Reception: Edgewood Golf Course – Lake Tahoe, NV
Photographer: [Studio] Christa Hoffarth Photography
The Brief:
- Sabrina and Federico reside in Bangkok, Thailand
- Sabrina had a long time fondness for the area, as her family owns a vacation home in Lake Tahoe.
- Federico is from Northen Italy.
- The couple’s friends and family traveled the globe to attend this spectacular wedding.
- Blue Sky was contracted to provide the The Essentials along with some additional hourly consulting.
The Planning:
- Blue Sky Events communicated with the bride and groom via international Skype calls and e-mail throughout the course of planning.
- The time difference of 14 hours made it crucial that we coordinate scheduled calls with a detailed agenda.
- Due to the detailed, unique ideas and wishes of the bride, extensive collaboration among area professionals was necessary to provide creative and logistical solutions.
- Additional services provided include:
- Designing and coordination of the custom ceremony and reception lay out.
- Review of the international ceremony with client and orchestrate wedding ceremony rehearsal.
- Assisted with menu choices and quantities for the cocktail party themed dinner, incorporating tastes from Italy to Californian cuisines.
- Created a lounge decorated with different lighting accents and the bride’s choice floral centerpiece’s unique to each table.
- Coordination of turn over from ceremony to outdoor lounge area.
- Collaboration with the bride and setup crews involving decor and floral, and her uncle the florist, who drove 4 hours from San Francisco to ensure that the bride’s vision was executed perfectly!
The Result:
- The ceremony and cocktail lounge reception turned out beautiful and the bride was all smiles! The lounge, centerpieces, and lighting were spectacular. Several international traditions were incorporated to unite this couple, including: a Japanese reading, a unity candle, a Thai ceremony with a headdress exit and blessing, Italian and Spanish prayers, and of course bubbles being blown over the bride and groom during the recessional. Federico displayed his romantic Italian side as he passionately kissed the bride during the ceremony. This display came well in advance of being told to do so by the officiate who was a friend of the couple. The cocktail dinner reception had a casual but elegant style with a DJ mixing their favorite tunes, an Italian water station turned to Mojito bar, and the dinner was passed hors D’ouvres and heavy entrée stations. Guest enjoyed the sunset from the Terrace overlooking Lake Tahoe as the bride and groom mingled through the room, then danced until the last song!
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Jenny & Matt
Ceremony: St. Francis of the Mountain Church – Fallen Leaf Lake, CA
Reception: Valhalla Estate – South Lake Tahoe, CA
Photographer: Steve Keegan Wedding Photojournalist
The Brief:
- The Bride and Groom both live in Florida, they came to Blue Sky Events almost two years prior to their wedding date to start planning.
- Matt and Jenny contracted Blue Sky for our Full Service Wedding Coordination services.
- This wedding was unique in the way that Matt (the groom) actually planned the entire wedding with us from beginning to end, as the bride was finishing her residency and schooling.
The Planning:
- Since we had two years to plan, the couple had their first choice of dates, venues and vendors.
- Fortunately the couple was able to get away a couple times during the planning to visit Lake Tahoe and meet with vendors.
- Blue Sky provided additional assistance with invitations, save the dates, programs, and all their guest’s activities for the five-day destination wedding.
- We finally had the pleasure of working with the bride when it came time to decide on linens and flowers. The bride chose to use the colors of Lake Tahoe, which were varying shades of blue and green.
- Due to the parking limitations at the venues, roundtrip transportation was provided for their guests. Strategic and detailed planning was required to ensure the guests were picked up at the many various hotels and private homes.
The Result:
- The ceremony took place at St. Francis of the Mountain Church which is a remote chapel tucked deep in an aspen forest along the shores of Fallen Leaf Lake. Many might recognize this beautiful alpine lake from the movie City of Angels. The reception was held on the shores of Lake Tahoe at The Grand Hall of the Historical Tahoe Tallac Site, which is named Valhalla, meaning Heaven or Paradise. The interior of Valhalla was decorated with large flower orbs that hung from the ceiling and silky lamour green linens on the tables. Green and blue checked linens were used for the outdoor dining tables to create a garden theme. At sunset the guests followed the Bride and Groom to the Lake for a stone skipping wish-celebration, followed by gorgeous sunset photos. Returning to the ballroom, the dinning room had been transformed into a dance hall with a roaring fire blazing in Valhalla’s grand fireplace. As their guests looked on, the bride and groom showcased their skills on the dance floor, and everyone partied until the last song ended.
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Adrienne & Kwig
Ceremony: Thunderbird Lodge – Incline Village, NV
Reception: Thunderbird Lodge – Incline Village, NV
Photographer: Indigo Photography
The Brief:
- The bride and groom both live in Hawaii and have family on the East Coast, California and Nevada. They had a small wedding ceremony in Philadelphia with the Grooms family, but also wanted a West Coast Wedding in a place that was held dear to the bride’s heart – Lake Tahoe!
- The mother of the bride who lives on the East Coast contracted Blue Sky Events for The Essentials, but the detail in planning quickly led to Full Service Wedding Coordination.
The Planning:
- The wedding and reception was originally to be held at a private estate on the lake, but due to logistical concerns it was relocated to the beautiful and historic Thunderbird Lodge.
- The clients could not visit the site prior to the wedding and wanted to get a visual to better understand the venue layout and how each piece of the event would flow to the next. To accomplish this task, Blue Sky provided diagrams with measurements and photos that outlined the flow of the ceremony, cocktail reception, and the dinner arrangement including: dining stations and tables, and the ballroom layout for cake cutting and dancing.
- In addition to the wedding event we were asked to plan an adventure day for the bride, groom, and 15 of their closest friends that took place the day prior to the wedding!
The Result:
- What a gorgeous and fun event! The historical Thunderbird Lodge is no doubt one of Lake Tahoe’s most beautiful and unique event and wedding locations. Included with this venue are docent lead tours of the property and it’s many eccentric attributes; one of these being a 600 foot underground tunnel. Group transportation is required due to this locations positioning on the mountainside and lake and it’s narrow winding private driveway. The guests were shuttled in small groups and upon arriving were given tours of the magnificent estate. The bride wanted to keep the décor simple. Due to where they live it seemed very fitting to incorporate Hawaiian lei’s, which were given to each of the guest as gifts and served as roaming décor throughout the evenings events. Blue Sky ordered the lei’s directly from Hawaii, and had to be overnight shipped to ensure that they were fresh and beautiful. The night ended with a beautiful sunset, along with cake, dancing and karaoke! For the finale to this beautiful Lake Tahoe wedding, Blue Sky coordinated a post wedding brunch the following day. This was held under a pavilion at a private lake front location. After indulging in the wonderful brunch guests enjoyed kayaking and swimming in the beautiful blue water of Lake Tahoe.
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Theresa & Chris
Ceremony:
Reception: The Chateau – Incline Village, NV
Photographer: Photography by Monique
The Brief:
- Chris and Theresa have a deep admiration for the area and both grew up vacationing in Lake Tahoe.
- With 250 guests expected to attend their wedding the couple knew it would require the expertise of a professional wedding planner.
- The reception site was to be at The Chateau in Incline Village, NV, although they wanted to have a lake front beach wedding ceremony.
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The Planning:
- Blue Sky was contracted for full service coordination one year prior to the wedding, arranging all aspects including: ceremony location, transportation, lodging, specialty décor and place settings.
- The bride wanted unique centerpieces that would compliment her colors and love of chocolate.
The Result:
The fall wedding took place on one of Lake Tahoe’s famous “Indian Summer” days filled with blue skies and warm sunshine. With parking being of concern at Sand Harbor the 250 guests were transported by private shuttles to the ceremony location. The wedding took place on a small lake front bluff with the grandeur of Lake Tahoe as the backdrop. The ceremony décor was simple and elegant and was complimented by Anne Roos playing Celtic harp in the background. Following the ceremony the guests were shuttled to The Chateau for a cocktail reception held on the outdoor patio. As the reception began so did a work of art! An artist was on site to capture the evening’s events on canvas as they unfolded. Nothing was spared in the table settings, from specialty linens, glass chargers, the custom menu and a flower bud to greet each guest as they found their way to their seats. The decadent wedding cake along with unique cake centerpieces for each table were designed by Flour Girl Wedding Cakes with brown fondant, and were accented with pink flowers by Lavish Floral. The event and the art turned out spectacular!! As a testament to a job well done, Theresa hired Blue Sky again the following year to help plan a summer weekend of events for her sister’s bachelorette party.
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Lake Tahoe Private Estate Weddings
Photographer: [Studio] Christa Hoffarth Photography and Emily Lamont Photography
The Brief:
- Many Brides and Grooms come to us in search of a large home to host their wedding and stay at for their destination wedding.
- Lake Tahoe does have private estate weddings available but they are hard to find.
- A few of the many custom services we offer include: finding the perfect private estate for your wedding weekend, assistance with rentals, permits and insurance, all of which are necessary pieces in Private Estate Weddings.
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The Planning:
- When planning a private estate wedding you will find that you have a lot of flexibility in the wedding plans, but there are many more details in the creative and logistical aspects of planning.
- Some things to consider: parking limitations, insurance needs, noise and homeowners policies, rental needs including restrooms, lighting needs, and reception tents, tables, place settings and bar details, just to name a few.
- A great deal of pre-planning and due diligence should be done before ever signing a contract to ensure your desired outcome is achievable.
The Result:
When done correctly Private Estate Weddings can be some of the most unique and beautiful events you’ll ever attend. Not only do these locations provide the most seclusion, but generally the most casual of settings. Here, at Blue Sky Events we pride ourselves in the design and execution of custom events. The options are amazing and plentiful ranging from lakefront, mountainside, riverside and more. Give us a call and let us help assist you planning your wedding or with finding that perfect location.
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