Winter Wedding in Squaw Valley

While summer is usually the most popular season to get married, winter certainly has its own stunning beauty, especially a winter wedding at the top of Squaw Valley!

Scott proposed to Jessica at the top of Breckenridge in Colorado, so they were naturally inclined to pick a beautiful ski destination for their wedding. Guests were whisked to the top of the mountain via the Cable Car, and the ceremony was held at Squaw Valley’s High Camp venue, with stunning views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains. As the bride and groom recessed down the aisle (check out the Persian rug aisle runner), guests popped colorful confetti onto the couple in celebration.

The reception was held in the Terrace room, with panoramic views. As the sun set, the light outside was wintery blue, and the lush jewel-tone florals from B&B Floral Design and twinkling candles across the tables added to the cozy ambiance.

Read more from the lovely bride below…

Scott and I met in our San Francisco apartment building (boy next door). We both lived in the building a year before we met. One evening, a mutual friend and neighbor invited me to a BBQ at Scott’s apartment. We hit it off and started dating shortly after that BBQ. One of our first dates was a hot yoga class that I took Scott to. Scott doesn’t really like to sweat (he’s a swimmer) and it was a hot one, but he took it like a champ. We dated for a couple of years before we were engaged. Scott proposed on top of Peak 9 in Breckenridge, Colorado. He said he had to fix his boot when we got off the lift. He bent down to fix his boot and came up with a ring!

I tried on a lot of gowns before I found the one I chose. There were many gowns that I liked but nothing that really felt like the perfect one. Finally, I was trying on some dresses at Nordstrom and was about to give up. My stylist and now friend Cindy said, just try this last one on. I was skeptical because I didn’t think I wanted a strapless gown and I didn’t think I wanted lace. I instantly fell in love. The gown had a beautiful latte colored lining which made the ivory lace pop! It hugged my curves in all the right places and made me feel super feminine and confident. The designs of the lace reminded me of henna designs. I wanted something that would bring in a bit of my Indian heritage. I also loved how the tiered lace on the skirt emulated the mountains. I felt like a snow queen in it (perfect for a Tahoe winter wedding). I knew it would fit beautifully in the Sierras. Finally, I wanted something that was different, that I hadn’t seen before. The latte lining made it special and unique. I paired it with a light mocha vintage fur that really made the latte color pop. After the wedding I hated the thought of my beautiful dress left just hanging in a closet so I had it made into two pieces: a shorter dress and a high-low skirt. Now I can wear it again!

We gave gift bags to our bridal party and family that were totes beautifully designed by an artist in Colorado. The designs went perfectly with a Tahoe wedding and were a nod to our engagement in Colorado. My favorite design is the totem animal heads.

If I had to put a name to it, I would call our wedding style “Elegance and Adventure”. We wanted to focus on a combination of things for our wedding style and I wasn’t sure how it would come together. I think the contrast turned out quite nicely (if I do say so myself ;)). We wanted guests to feel like they were on a fun adventure and having a new experience. We wanted to embrace the beauty of Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter. Pristine snow, beautiful trees, a mountaintop site that felt like you were suspended in the clouds (8200 ft up), and the clear blue lake. The need for decorations is minimal when you have all this natural beauty. However, I also wanted to bring in my Indian heritage. I am half Indian. My last name, Mishra, means mixture (perfect since I am a mix of ethnicities). My Indian background is very important to me and I am also an avid yogi. To incorporate this, I brought in a couple statues of my favorite deity, Ganesh, who brings blessings to the wedding and helps to remove obstacles. We included rich colors like burgundy and orange and metallic gold accents common in Indian weddings. We had a beautiful Eastern-inspired rug down the aisle. We had a henna painting party for family and bridal party members a couple nights before the wedding. We had a throw made from sari fabrics draped behind the cake table. We wanted elegance and a touch of drama that stood out against the simplicity of the natural background but did not take away from it.

There is an Indian tradition to shower the bride and groom with flowers (representing their love) as they walk down the aisle. I found the flower confetti poppers on Etsy and had to have them. Guests had fun throwing the flower confetti at us (one member of the bridal party took it very seriously). Also perfect as only biodegradable items were allowed at our venue.

Another wonderful Etsy vendor custom made our Groom’s cake toppers (a Southern tradition – I am from Texas). Scott went to University of California at Berkeley (golden bears) and I went to University of Texas (Longhorns). She made us a golden bear and longhorn cake topper that were so sweet.

Guests were given a truffle made from one of my favorite small business owners in the Bay Area. She makes then with her own blend of chocolate and the ganache is made with coconut milk instead of cream. These were filled with a delicious Sumatra coffee coconut milk ganache with handmade edible confetti from butternut squash and other dehydrated fruits and veggies. The truffle was enclosed in a mini cake dome.

A wonderful Etsy vendor made my cake topper based off of a drawing that I sent her. As I mentioned I am an avid yogi and was a competitive gymnast growing up. I love to do handstands so I had her make me a handstanding cake topper.

On wedding planning:

At times it was tough to find time for wedding planning. I run my own accounting/bookkeeping firm (and am also a yoga teacher), but wedding planning served as a nice creative outlet for me. I enjoyed planning some of the small details most. We did have several challenges due to the unusual Winter in Tahoe this year. It was a record year for snowfall. Blizzard after blizzard left both our original rehearsal dinner venue and reception venue damaged and unusable. The reception venue debacle was particularly stressful because it happened about 3 weeks before the event. What is funny, though, is we ended up with our first choice of venue in the end. The beautiful High Camp venue on top of a snow-covered mountain. We had previously gone away from this venue due to some complications, but after we lost the reception venue, they accommodated us to use our first choice venue. It all works out in the end! We ended up with quite a wonderful experience. The Friday before our wedding was another blizzard. Some guests even got stuck on the pass for a couple hours since it was snowing so much. We were a little worried. Come Saturday it was still snowing, but the venue approved us to go up the mountain on the tram for the ceremony and reception. We were elated but a little apprehensive. At the time of the ceremony there was a light snow, but literally at the time I stepped out to walk down the aisle, the clouds parted and the sun came out. So many blessings and such a magical day!

Sources
Sonya Yruel / Cloud Nine Event Company / Squaw Alpine / B&B Designs / Lucky Plum / McKenzie Morrison Makeup / LUX Hair / Sugar Pine Cakery / Bisou Chocolate / Henna Blessings / Resort at Squaw Creek / The Class