It’s truly surreal to see all of the pieces come together on a wedding day. I have been looking forward to traveling for Chelsie and John’s Northern California destination wedding at the Twenty Mile House since we met up for their engagement photos at Mt. Rainier. Reno, Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges are a dream destination locations and one of the most beautiful areas on the West Coast. Getting to travel there as Chelsie + John’s Lake Tahoe Wedding Photographer is definitely a dream come true!

The Twenty Mile House was built in 1854 and was originally a trading post for local gold miners and a stopping place for teamsters on the Reno-Quincy run. I loved the rich history of the location and hearing stories about different part of the property from staff. Throughout the years, Twenty Mile House has had many owners and in 1991 the Gage family turned it into a Bed & Breakfast. To this day it remains a Bed & Breakfast and specializes in hosting ecologically minded green weddings. The staff takes care of all of the details, ensuring a stress-free and exciting weekend for the bride and groom and their guests.

As their day unfolded the weather gave us a little bit of sunshine and a little bit of rain, but we embraced the thunderstorms and everyone was excited when the skies cleared just in time for their ceremony. The ceremony location was absolutely surreal. Chelsie and John said their “I do’s” in the middle of the forest under tall pine trees. After their ceremony, we walked across to train tracks to the river bank where we were greeted with sunshine and rain at the SAME time!

My favorite part of the day was catching the sweet glances and love between these two – they truly took in every moment of their day. Chelsie and John, thank you so much for having us travel to California. It was truly an honor to be part of your day and I look forward to our next adventure together! Cheers!