Our Favorite Tahoe Wedding Photographers, Part II

As you search for wedding vendors, you might ask yourself if you really need a professional photographer? And the answer is a resounding yes! Luckily, you don’t have to spend hours on the web searching for your dream photographer because we have you covered. Here are five of our favorites you need to check out today!

VILD Photography

Describe your business or give us your tagline. Tell us who you are and the style of your photography. 
Husband-wife team capturing beautiful moments in outstanding scenery.

Favorite all-time photo you must get of every couple. 
Definitely the “wrap-up from behind.” It’s always so good as you get both their faces forward, but it can be anything from sweet and romantic to goofy or serious.

What are your top 3 favorite vendors you love to work with in Lake Tahoe? 
Music in Tahoe, Blend Catering, and Dax Victorino Films

Wedding pet peeves? 
One is not having enough time in the day to do everything that’s planned. It makes everyone rush and feel stressed out when it easily could have been avoided with better time management. Things always take longer than you think, and the worst thing that can happen if you have “too” much time on a wedding day is that you actually get to spend more time with your people. 

Favorite moment at a wedding? 
Cocktail hour – where the couple gets to hang out with all their people. There is so much love and excitement when people from different stages of life get together.

Check out VILD Photography’s beautiful work here!

VILD Photography / Blend Catering / FiftyFlowers / Music in Tahoe / All That Glitters on The Gram / Grace + White Bridal / Men’s Wearhouse
/ Franco Masoma / To Boot New York / Tahoe Blue Estate / Mountain Thyme Events / Love & Lupines / FLORA Bridal / INDOCHINO

Ruthanne Z.

Describe your business or give us your tagline. Tell us who you are and the style of your photography.
I create elevated elopement experiences infused with the elegance of the high Sierra. My top priority is to blend the magic of a couple’s passion, love story, and future dreams into images that speak to them beyond the day we spend together.

Favorite all-time photo you must get of every couple.
I always take a big panoramic image of my couples in the places that make them go “wow.” Usually, these are comprised of 15+ photos to show the depth and scenery they’re immersed in.

What are your top 3 favorite vendors you love to work with in Lake Tahoe?
Meredith Richmond from Ceremonies by Meredith is my go-to gal for ceremonies — she’s so thoughtful and brings a lot of peace to a ceremony. My fav makeup artist is Lisa Pietrzak, and my florals always come from either Christine with Wilderland Studio or Meghon at Love & Lupines — she did MY elopement flowers five years ago, too.

Wedding pet peeves?
When people invited, don’t respect the couple’s decisions by making passive-aggressive comments all day. Nothing gets me more worked up. In my field, I’d you’ve been invited to share in a wedding day where the guest list is under 25; you’re so lucky and should be gracious and supportive. But also…when people don’t believe me when I ask them to wear good shoes. We’re hiking into the woods; gotta have proper footwear!

Favorite moment at a wedding?
Elopements are so much different from traditional weddings, so it varies for me. But in general, I’d have to say the last 10 minutes are my favorite. I always ask my couples to grab each other close, close their eyes, and take in all of their senses to remember this day and this feeling forever. It gets me choked up every dang time!

Get to know the talented Ruthanne Z. here!

Ali Boundy Photography

Describe your business or give us your tagline. Tell us who you are and the style of your photography. 
I’m an alternative love story photographer specializing in immortalizing secret moments for bulletproof couples.

Favorite all-time photo you must get of every couple. 
If I’m given the opportunity to shoot with the couple alone, I like to take a second to back up and give them some time to soak in the realization that they’re married. It’s usually a wide shot, and I tell them just to breathe together and try to hold onto that moment and make it a core memory.

What are your top 3 favorite vendors you love to work with in Lake Tahoe? 
Just three? I’ll give ya four! DJ Matt C. of Someone Said Yes, Shelayne Hammock of Twist Flowers, Sarah and Christian of Epics Photo Booth, and makeup artist Nikki Scheerer.

Wedding pet peeves? 
The day is about two people who love each other, and everybody is supposed to be there to celebrate that. My biggest pet peeve is when guests, family, or vendors lose sight of that and become selfish. If somebody jeopardizes the couple’s ultimate wishes, they go straight to jail!

Favorite moment at a wedding? 
When the couple sees each other for the first time. It’s almost like you can physically see all their nerves falling away, and they breathe a little easier once they’re experiencing the day as a team.

Here’s everything you need to know about Ali Boundy Photography!

Elsa Boscarello

Describe your business or give us your tagline. Tell us who you are and the style of your photography. 
My photography style is a blend of photojournalism with editorial-esque images. I get a lot of my inspiration from outdoor publications and fashion, so a Tahoe wedding is a perfect place to combine both worlds. I’m also a sucker for all the emotions experienced on a wedding day, so I try hard to anticipate moments and capture images that remind couples how the moment felt. 

Favorite all-time photo you must get of every couple. 
One of my favorite photos of the day is right after the couple has their first kiss as husband and wife. The wave of emotions they experience as they look out to the audience and see their tribe is such a thrilling moment. It’s by far the best ten seconds of a wedding day. 

What are your top 3 favorite vendors you love to work with in Lake Tahoe? 
Choosing my top three favorite vendors is hard, so I’m going to cheat a little bit. I love recommending Ceremonies by Meredith for elopements; her calm presence and talent for incorporating nature into the ceremony make for a great experience. Sweet Roots Farm & Floral Design is an excellent option for florals; they are certified organic and have sustainable practices. Lisa Pietrzak and La Di Da Beauty Hair & Makeup are always a team you can trust for make-up and hair! Epik Weddings & Events‘ team is always a blast for couples who opt for a DJ instead of a band. Also, my experience working with Karie with She Said Yes Weddings is always amazing. Finally, I’m working with One Fine Day Events this year for a wedding, and so far, the communication leading up to the event has been exceptional. 

Wedding pet peeves? 
My only wedding pet peeve is a tight timeline. I hate when couples have to rush through their day. Thankfully, this rarely happens. I get to work with amazing planners who allow for a good creative flow and plenty of time for things to feel organic and not rushed. I’m not a fan of super long family lists. Although it looks good on paper, a long family list on a wedding day can be exhausting for couples who want to celebrate with family and friends! 

Favorite moment at a wedding? 
I love a good cocktail hour! It’s so fun to see the bride and groom in their element, surrounded by friends and family.

Check out Elsa Boscarello’s listing on our Vendor Guide!

Elsa Boscarello / Luna Belle Beauty Co / Jenni Grubba Events / Sweet Roots Farm & Floral Design / D’lish Catering / The Shade Shifters / Lace and Liberty / Lake Tahoe Bleu Wave / The Safari Rose / Maggie Sottero Designs / SuitSupply

Calvin Hobson Photography

Describe your business or give us your tagline. Tell us who you are and the style of your photography. 
Emotive photography for the extraordinary bride! I feel like this line reflects on my goals surrounding photography and touches on who I love to shoot. I often leap into large format films to capture certain settings and situations. While the list of reasons is way too long to go over-, a couple of reasons are these:
-Analog film photography is very special to my clients and me. Allowing a piece of film to touch the light from my subjects directly means that the film has no intermediate interpretation but is the actual light reflected off whoever I am shooting. It’s extremely tangible, and I have a real, physical medium that proves our memory.
-Shooting in larger formats is possible with film. Instead of a small given frame of a certain resolution like with digital, I can capture that same frame in that given resolution, as well as many rectangles surrounding that image. It’s a more immersive photograph – with much more detail – able to be cropped in numerous creative ways. It’s another avenue of flexibility and preservation of a moment for me.
-Darkroom capabilities. With these real tangible pieces of film, I can re-project light through them onto numerous photographic papers to keep an entirely analog process without ever touching a computer to manipulate moments. It’s raw and honest. 

Favorite all-time photo you must get of every couple. 
Although I do love certain poses and lighting situations like Golden Hour – I try specifically not to get the same photo between my brides. Each couple has a uniqueness that should be represented by letting them be their true selves. I prefer to capture them in a documentary, letting moments decide the photos instead of the photos deciding the moment. 

What are your top 3 favorite vendors you love to work with in Lake Tahoe? 
Choosing favorite vendors is tough! I really enjoy working with video teams like Tony Castaneda and Chair7 films. There are creative choices in certain moments that are made to accommodate video that I get to completely be hands off of the directive process and solely allow me to consider my decisions behind the lens. Also, we often bounce ideas off each other and build more thoughtful possibilities as a team. 1+1=3. Lastly and definitely not least is Chateau Bliss Event Design. Never have I seen more brilliantly designed weddings than when I work with them. Heather is a design genius, and I always get my favorite wedding galleries built when I work with her. 

Wedding pet peeves? 
My wedding pet peeves are often tackled before the day even starts. For example, I am never thrilled when I am talking to a couple about wedding details and am only hearing from just the bride or the groom. I want both of them to be excited about this, and I need to be present with both sides before I can effectively capture their wedding. Another is being unable to coordinate dinner to eat simultaneously with the wedding couple. If we don’t, we miss twice the number of photos if we don’t eat concurrently!

Favorite moment at a wedding? 
My favorite moment at a wedding is directly after formals. When we leave the bustling and busy family formals and leave with just me and my couple to wander to a beautiful, quiet part of the venue to capture their first moments with each other. There is nothing like it. It’s the first time they can focus on just themselves, freshly married, with no distractions. So, I often go into stealth mode and let them be while photographing them in their element! 

Click here to view more of Calvin Hobson Photography’s work!