Let’s be real, there’s no “bad” time to get married in Lake Tahoe; no matter the month, the views, scents, and overall ambiance are incredible. It could be muddy and hailing, and still, there’s just nothing like a deep blue lake surrounded by the Sierra Nevada.
But to help you zero in on the right date for your Tahoe wedding, here’s an idea of what our seasons are like, and what you can expect for a wedding during each. Who knows, perhaps with this information, you’ll switch from wanting a lakeside summer wedding to one in a rustic lodge in the winter.
Winter wedding
- Smaller selection of venues, but great, romantic choices, and you can still use beaches
- Cozy, intimate feeling with fires roaring, snow falling, and the smell of cinnamon aplenty
- Weekends can get busy with ski-traffic
- Super fun pre- and post-wedding activities, like sledding, snowshoeing and skiing
- Cold, so layers are a must. If your dream wedding dress is silky and strapless, this may not be the season for you
Spring wedding
- Sentimental because love is in the air
- Symbolic: it’s a time for new and fresh beginnings
- Not all outdoor venues are open because of variable weather
- Snow may not have melted, but average temperatures are starting to rise
- It’s not prime time for tourists, so you can count on a greater availability of rooms in hotels and motels, as well as less traffic
- Beware of Mother’s Day and Memorial Day; your guests may have other plans, and these weekends tend to bring more out-of-towners to the lake
- The lake is typically too cold to swim in, so if water activities are part of your weekend plans, you may want to wait until summer
- The wildflowers are AMAZING
Summer wedding
- Caterers, venues, bands, and hotels book up quickly, so it can be tricky to get exactly what you’d like, especially for Saturday weddings
- For the sake of flexibility, think about doing your wedding ceremony on a Friday. This way you can enjoy a weekend full of activities with your friends, and you may have better luck with making reservations
- Great time for being outdoors because of the warmer, consistent weather
- More venues are open
- Avoid Father’s Day weekend, as well as July 4th
- Crowds can be aplenty, traffic can be less than ideal
Fall wedding
- Most locals say this is the best time of year in Tahoe because it’s warm and the crowds have left. September is known as “the locals summer.”
- More venues are open post the summer rush, and the same goes for catering companies and bands
- Lake Tahoe is known for its Indian summers, so fall weddings can actually have better weather than summer ones
- Tree colors are beautiful
- Hotels are more affordable
