This was an adventure elopement in Lake Tahoe for the history books! Kerry and Brad did the damn thing and executed the perfect elopement. Kerry said, “hell yes!” in October to Brad’s proposal. TBH we weren’t there for that moment, but we are pretty sure that’s how it went. That winter, the pair started looking at venues and the guest list. Even after taking an ax to their guest list, they were still at 75 peeps. Kerry and Brad had a heart to heart about what they wanted THEIR wedding to look like, “what we want for our day is romantic, intimate, really meaningful ceremony and video. We want to have the celebration with family and friends, but it doesn’t have to be the same day!”

“We want to have the celebration with family and friends, but it doesn’t have to be the same day!” -Kerry & Brad

Cue Honeybee Weddings! We got the vibe, but now the question is where. Kerry and Brad had delivered with the vision. They wanted the ceremony to take place in the area that they lived and they were excited about Monkey Rock. For reference, Monkey Rock is almost on the exact OPPOSITE end as Emerald Bay Lake which feeds into Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is HUGE which means plenty of room for a thousand different ways to elope. If you’re asking, “where can I elope in Tahoe?” The answers are endless. It’s all about finding the location that matches you and your partner! First step – find your Tahoe wedding photographer (like us!), we help you narrow the 72 miles of Lake Tahoe shoreline into something for your unique love story.

Lake Tahoe is magical because you getttt all of nature’s treasures – trees, water, mountains. You also get allll of nature’s seasons! Spoiler alert – their magical day had both glorious sunshine and refreshing rain! Case and point on the seasons – Betsy and Andy envisioned a Monkey Rock elopement for themselves about 6 weeks sooner than Kerry and Brad’s but the SNOW was intense and very late this year! Betsy and Andy pivoted and chose to have a romantic Sand Harbor elopement at Lake Tahoe with a beach ceremony. As your wedding photographers, we are prepared for all elements!

We want to start off with a huge shout out to Kerry and Brad! They are so cool and so sweet and they just really take care of each other so well. MOST IMPORTANTLY their humor game is top shelf. We were laughing with Kerry and Brad all day long. Brad is such an awesome human, he is always hyping up his wifey. He calls Kerry a legend ‘cause she completed this EPIC run around Tahoe. We spend a lot of time hyping up our couples and we LOVE to see when they just hype each other up non stop. GOOD VIBES!

We have a second shout out to their outfits. Kerry and Brad understood the assignment. Their style is on point! He’s rocking an Indochino custom suit. It features green linen and tropical leaf vibes on the inside of the jacket. For their hiking backpack (not a feature typically coordinated for the wedding!) Kerry rocked a yellow backpack to match the yellow flowers that she had in her bouquet and on his boutonniere. This adventure elopement in Lake Tahoe is stylish down to their kicks – matching custom dated converse! Kerry then switched out the converse for velvet green heels to coordinate with Brad’s suit. Fucking beautiful, these fashinastas. 

We are having flashbacks to last year’s Iceland elopement at Reynisfjara. Bryan rocked a maroon suit from Express, fit with a pink bow tie. Vi came prepared with Doc Martens that were OUT OF THIS WORLD, paired with the fluffiest white jacket that she appropriately referred to as “The Sherpa”. All to say – this is YOUR day, you come styled up in a way that truly feels like you!

eloping in Lake Tahoe is for the wildly in love

Back to the present. We start at the trailhead for our adventure elopement in Lake Tahoe at Monkey Rock. It is a beautiful mountain hike, it’s short but a little steep. There are beautiful trees on either side of the gravel trail. The view from the top is EPIC! Like, out of your wildest dreams epic. It’s called Monkey Rock after the rock that looks like a monkey a little off to the side. This rock is bananas! 

Then you look down and see the blueness of Lake Tahoe and it’s just like POW! Just like the cartoon animation, pinky promise. If you’re looking at these photos thinking, no way it’s that blue, I am here to say ACTUALLY, IT IS! This is the bluest it’s been in 40 years!! Just for Brad and Kerry. And also thanks to a resurgence of the lake’s native zooplankton. They’ve provided a natural clean-up crew to help restore the lake’s famous blue waters.

Call us Bill Nye, we like to nerd out. 

Up at the top of the world for their adventure elopement in Lake Tahoe, Sarah the officiant is there to make it legit. We find the 100% perfect place that’s on the West side of the lake for the ceremony. The area is kind of curvy and the trees surround them. Karry and Brad opt for a longer vow exchange, spending about half an hour to share their intentional messages to each other. Their vows were so sweet and I’m snapping away while also crying my little eyes out. They are just so fucking amazing.

To set the stage, it’s pretty darn sunny and Brad and I bond over our habitual burning. He got sunburned, I got sunburned, the rock monkey probably got sunburned. That’s how you know it’s a good time though! It was so beautiful. We took a few more pictures around there, just really soaking up the joy and they’re just so excited to be married. 

We walk down the trail and take some pictures and videos of them. These were must have photos for our avid outdoor adventurer couple on their adventure elopement in Lake Tahoe. As we take our time covering these photos, it starts to sprinkle like big splotchy raindrops. Number one photographer rule – always be prepared! Sunscreen in the morning and whipping out an umbrella in the afternoon! We protect our couples AMAZING outfits with our rain jackets and proceed!

Our next stop is Brad and Kerry’s home. We meet their sweet family and their fuzzy little dog Hazy Daisy. She’s named after a beer- the hazy ale. She’s adorable, their families are great, and their friends are now our friends. Thanks. We take some pictures outside their home and then get ready for the next adventure – Wild Goose II.

Pssst – are you catching why a full day elopement is so important? It’s more than a couple hours of hikes and vows, we want to catch the full CELEBRATION!!

Wild Goose II is a vintage, wooden, Italy finish type boat in Lake Tahoe. This is one of our preferred vendors we fucking LOVE the wild views. It photographs like a dream. Kerry and Brad along with their five guests aboard the boat. They are the captains now!! Just kidding, we left that to the professionals. Along comes our favorite part – snacks. There is hummus, oysters, shrimp tacos and a very elevated food spread. We take more pictures on the boat and we laugh our asses off with the family and friends. It is SUCH a good time. Mom Jill brought furs that were actually grandmas and we were rocking those furs, channeling Grams! The guests shared toasts which were so meaningful and just hilarious and beautiful.

celebrate good times, come on

Kerry and Brad have their first dance on the bow of the boat as it is coming back to the Shore. It  was just a fantastic, beautiful, wonderful day top to bottom for this adventure elopement in Lake Tahoe. As the sun is setting they are enjoying their first dance. I could not have asked for a more amazing, truly intentional couple and elopement. This is the Honeybee experience! The inspiration for this day came from one of our previous Lake Tahoe elopements.

We HAVE to recap the tips for our new couples that we learned with Kerry and Brad.

1. Prepare Toasts. If you have people on your wedding day, have them write toasts. It made the boat reception all the more magical to hear what the people closest want to share. Ships (chef’s) kiss!
2. Two Playlists. One for the hike and one for the boat. Make a playlist of your favorite romantic songs for the trail on the way up and then for the reception have a separate party playlist – pump up the Rihana! 

As always for our magical adventure elopements, be a conscious traveler. For Lake Tahoe, they ask everyone to follow the Lake Tahoe Take Care Travel Pledge. You can do this in six easy steps.

1. Become a steward of Lake Tahoe – states that you will take care of the wonders of Lake Tahoe and will preserve it by being a champion for the region and leaving it better than you found it.
2. Respect the environment – what you carry in, you will take out.
3. Stay educated – nature deserves your attention and that knowledge and preparedness for outdoor adventure is your responsibility.
4. Keep wildlife wild – marvel at wildlife from a respectful distance to ensure safety for all.
5. Be fire safe – It only takes one spark to destroy an environment. Wildfire and its prevention are everyone’s responsibility.
6. Demonstrate mindful travel – you will love and take care of Lake Tahoe like a local and join in their passion to protect, preserve and positively impact the places you explore.

Learn more about the Lake Tahoe Take Care Travel Pledge.

If YOU ever want to talk through what an elopement could look like, schedule your call with us! Consults are always free. We love to talk about what your dream day looks like! Included with a Honeybee Elopement are all of our top vendors – let us help take some of the heavy lifting off of you. We are your adventure partners in crime, consultant on all things elopement, location matchmakers, elopement planner, ultimate hype people, pack mules, and experience over things advocates! Can’t wait to be your future BFFs for the day.

Our preferred Lake Tahoe wedding vendors from today:

Photo/Video/Planning: Honeybee Weddings  |  Officiant: Sarah Oswald |  Hair/Makeup: Luna Belle Beauty info@lunabellebeauty.com  |  Flowers: Twine Floral  |  Dress: Grace Loves Lace     |   Bridal Boutique: Still White  |  Shoes: Forever Soles |  Earrings: Anthropologie  |  Rings: Rare Carat |  Boat ride: Lake Tahoe Boat Charters