Elise & Chris' Granlibakken Tahoe Wedding: A Wildflower Forest Celebration in Lake Tahoe

Elise and Chris found Granlibakken by accident.

They'd come up for a ski weekend, needed a room, and everywhere else in Tahoe was booked solid or way out of budget. Granlibakken had availability. It's old-school Tahoe in the best way, no frills and a great breakfast, and they loved it immediately. So when it came time to look at wedding venues, they already knew where they wanted to check first.

Lake Tahoe had always been the place they went to reset, usually just the two of them. Their wedding was the first time they got to hand it over to everybody else.

Why Granlibakken Tahoe Works So Well for a Forest Wedding

Granlibakken sits in a tucked-away valley just off the lake in Tahoe City, on the North Shore. It's a ski hill, a lodge, and a conference center all on one property, which means the whole day can happen in one place without anyone getting in a car between the ceremony and the last song.

What sold Elise and Chris was that they could be outside for the parts that mattered. The ceremony lawn is ringed by pines and aspens, with granite boulders along the edges and string lights strung between the trunks. No arch needed. The trees do that work, and they're tall enough that the whole setting reads as forest even with a couple hundred chairs set up.

Then, when the sun drops and the temperature does what Tahoe temperatures do, everyone moves inside to the ballroom. Wood-paneled walls, big windows looking into the trees, and a parquet dance floor that got a lot of use.

Getting Ready: Blue Stripes, Wildflowers, and an Engraved Band

The morning started with Elise and her bridesmaids in matching blue-and-white striped pajama sets, glasses in hand, doing very little and enjoying all of it.

The details pulled the whole palette together early. Chris's gold band, engraved with their special date, photographed on white. A cathedral-length veil and a strapless column gown with structured pleating through the bodice, hanging against a river-rock wall.

And the flowers. Elise and her family did the flowers themselves, which is one of our favorite things to photograph, because DIY florals always look like the people who made them. Hers were full of coral and hot-pink roses, orange blooms, white anemones, yellow craspedia, and long trails of green amaranthus spilling out of a deep green vase set on a granite boulder in the garden. Wildflowers, warm colors, a little boho. Exactly the vision she'd described to us.

Upstairs in the getting-ready room, bridesmaids in deep red gathered around the train, helping with the last of it while the window light did the rest.

A Forest Ceremony at Granlibakken Tahoe

The ceremony happened on the lawn under the pines, with white chairs in long rows and guests filling in as the string lights came on overhead.

A flower girl in an embroidered floral dress led the way and left a trail of pink petals across the grass. Bridesmaids in a mix of deep red and burgundy satin walked in with bouquets that matched Elise's. Chris waited in a deep green three-piece suit.

Elise came up the aisle with both of her parents, and her face when she reached Chris is one of the frames we keep coming back to. She was grinning through the entire ceremony.

Rings went on. They kissed. Everybody made a lot of noise.

Lake Tahoe Pier Portraits

Part of the reason to get married in Tahoe is to actually see the lake, so we took Elise and Chris out to a pier for portraits.

That day the water was doing the full Tahoe thing. Deep blue, a scatter of boats, mountains stacked across the far shore, and a sky with just enough cloud to keep it interesting. We put them at the end of the pier and let the scale do the work. In the wide frames, they're small against all that blue, with the boards leading straight out to them.

They also gave us a great one with their arms thrown up, Elise's bouquet in the air.

A practical note for anyone planning pier portraits in Tahoe: access changes. Some piers are seasonal, some are private, and sections get closed for repairs without much warning. Build a backup shoreline spot into your timeline.

The Reception: Live Music, a Naked Cake, and a Dance Floor That Never Cleared

Elise and Chris told us what they wanted out of the reception, and it wasn't complicated. They wanted everyone to have a blast, dance, drink, and let loose.

That's exactly what happened.

There was a naked cake with fresh pink blooms on it, cut by the two of them. There were toasts from the sweetheart table. There was a father-daughter dance that had both of them laughing and then not laughing, in the way those dances go. Chris took a spin around the floor with his mom, and she matched him step for step in a yellow gown.

Then the band started and the floor filled up and stayed that way. Cowboy hats came out. Glow sticks came out. Somebody brought a Modelo. A little kid sat at the edge holding a glow stick, unimpressed by all of it, which is a photo we'd frame if it were ours.

Given how they met, it makes sense that a packed dance floor is how this one ended.

Planning a Wedding at Granlibakken Tahoe? A Few Things We've Learned

The Ceremony Lawn Doesn't Need Much Decor

The trees, the boulders, and the string lights carry it. Money spent on a big arch here mostly competes with the setting. Flowers at the aisle and on your people go further.

Plan for the Temperature Drop

Tahoe cools off fast once the sun goes behind the ridge, even in early September. It's worth thinking about wraps for the bridal party and a plan for older guests before the outdoor portion runs long.

Build in Travel Time If You Want the Lake

Granlibakken is close to the water but not on it. If lakefront or pier portraits matter to you, they need their own block in the timeline, not the ten minutes between the ceremony and cocktail hour.

Everything in One Place Is Worth a Lot

Ceremony outside, reception inside, and rooms on site means no shuttle logistics and no one getting lost on Highway 89. It also means guests can head straight up to bed at the end of the night, which is why the dance floor stays full so long.

Planning a Wedding in Lake Tahoe?

We're VILD Photography, Rob and Marie, a husband-and-wife team based in Tahoe. We photograph weddings all over the basin, from forest ceremonies like this one to ski-hill receptions and lakefront portraits, and we spend a lot of the day watching your people.

If you're planning a wedding at Granlibakken or anywhere else around Lake Tahoe, tell us what you have in mind. We'd love to hear about it.

Vendors:

Venue: @granlibakken

Wedding Planner: @leighandcoevents

DJ: @luckydevilsband

Hair & Makeup: @hairbyksubia

Cake Maker: @truckeecornerstonebakery

Dress Designer: @madewithlovebridal

Dress Boutique: @aandbebridalshop

Officiant: @galllliii