I’ve been waiting for this day. Very impatiently. You will, without a doubt, remember this couple (and their dog) from their sailboat engagement session last year. Like I said, I’ve been impatiently waiting for their big day to arrive, and it’s finally here. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when Chelsea Nicole Photography sent over the images from their wedding, and let me just tell you. It’s good. As good as I was hoping, and then some. A whole gallery of good.
From the planner … When Amber and Derik first began their planning, they searched everywhere for a venue, from Mexico to San Diego to Hawaii, before the perfect place finally hit them: Lake Tahoe; a place that’s very special to both them and their families. It’s
not only where they spend their summers boating and relaxing at Derik’s family lake house, but also happens to be the place where he put one knee down in the sand and proposed.
Amber’s a wedding planner in Northern California, so in planning her own wedding with the help of her then fiancé Derik and her coordinator team, Dawn, Melissa and Kahea, no detail was overlooked. As guests arrived for the ceremony along with beach they were treated to Lavender champagne, chilled grapes and parasols to shade the sun.
The ceremony began on the beach in the warm sunshine, with Bobby Jo Valentine serenading them with his acoustic guitar. Close friend Joey officiated the wedding and was able to incorporate personal details to make the ceremony extra special. It was funny and emotional all in one.
The flowers were beautifully done by Heidi Gellerman. She made a special trip to San Francisco to gather some of Amber’s favorite flowers, Astilbe, and Garden Roses. Lavender was the special flower that tied the whole wedding together; accented in Amber’s bouquet, Derik’s Boutonnière, and a single stem at each guest’s place seating. Heidi designed beautiful Grapewood centerpieces, using the roses and Lake Tahoe Moss.
The table names were thoughtful, creative and made from love. Amber and her team of coordinators took the glass out of antiqued picture frames, lined the cardboard on the inside with lace, and then twisted a wired twine by hand into different towns and places in Lake Tahoe that Amber and Derik had been.
Derik and Amber really appreciated all of the hard work their family and bridal party had put into the wedding. They thanked them all with a duffle bag with their name embroidered on it. The men also got matching sunglasses and a single cigar case. The ladies got matching Betsey Johnson sunglasses and a gold necklace with their initial engraved on a hammered gold pendant.
Amber and Derik are so lucky to have had an amazing photographer, Chelsea Nicole, who was able to capture all of these special details. When Amber received the images just a short month after the wedding, she couldn’t believe that Chelsea had been able to get pictures of every part of the day. So much time goes into planning a wedding, but the actual wedding day goes by so quick. To be able to reflect back on every moment is something that Derik and Amber will have with them forever. They could not have been happier with Chelsea and everything she did to make their wedding feel extra special.
But even more important to them was celebrating the day to the absolute fullest with all their loved ones. From getting ready with their dog, Hurley, and sneaking him out for a few photos (despite the ‘no dog’ policy) to hopping aboard the Tahoe Star for a celebratory boat ride and cocktails with their wedding party immediately following their ceremony, they included lots of special touches to make the day their own – and it was absolutely perfect.
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Wedding Photography: Chelsea Nicole Photography | Wedding Venue: Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village | Wedding Coordination & Design: A Touch of Grace | Flowers: Heidi Gellerman at Green with Envy | Decor & Lighting: Red Carpet Events | Linens: Wildflower Linens | Makeup: Kari Addison Styling | Hair: LuLu Hair Salon | Wedding Dress: Claire Pettibone ”Romantique” | Boat: Harrah’s Tahoe Star, Sr. Captain Doug Teakell | Guitarist: Bobby Jo Valentine | Videography: Scinema Productions