Sheila & Alejandro's Chateau at Incline Village Wedding: An Olive Green Summer Celebration in Lake Tahoe
Sheila and Alejandro got married at The Chateau at Incline Village in late summer, with more than a hundred people who flew in to be there, most of whom had never seen Lake Tahoe before.
That was the point. Tahoe is one of their favorite places, they come up often, and roughly 80 percent of their guest list had never been. As Sheila put it, they were kind of forcing everyone to take a vacation with them.
Then, at 6:30 in the evening, the power went out at the venue. More on that below, because it's the best story in this post and the night didn't stop.
Why The Chateau at Incline Village Is One of the Best All-Inclusive Wedding Venues in Lake Tahoe
The Chateau sits on the golf course in Incline Village on Lake Tahoe's Nevada side, with timber and stone architecture that reads like a very large, very well-kept mountain lodge.
The main reception space is a 5,200-square-foot Grand Ballroom that divides into three rooms, with a stacked stone fireplace at each end, exposed timber beams overhead, and wraparound decks looking out at the mountains, the lake, and the course. There's an adjustable dance floor, bars, a stage, and separate quarters for each side of the wedding party to get ready in.
For ceremonies there are several options on the property: the 10th Tee Box out on the course, a tree-lined Creekside spot between holes 11 and 18 that holds up to 100, and an indoor Fireside setup at the big stone fireplace if the weather turns. The rental covers the ballroom, the deck, heat lamps, tables, chairs, and setup.
Why They Chose an All-Inclusive Lake Tahoe Wedding Venue
They weren't planning this from down the street. They're not local, and Sheila was clear about what she wanted: a venue that handled most of it in-house, so she wasn't assembling a dozen vendors from several hundred miles away.
That's an underrated reason to pick a venue, and it's the right one for a lot of couples. An all-inclusive property means fewer contracts, fewer delivery windows, fewer people to chase in the last month, and a planning process that stays as low-stress as a wedding gets.
The other half of the decision was the feel of the place. They love being outside, and Incline Village has the cabin-in-the-pines quality they were after without giving up a real ballroom and a full kitchen.
Venue hunting turned out to be the part of planning they enjoyed most, mostly because it meant spending weekends around the lake.
An Olive Green, Butter Yellow, and Dusty Blue Wedding Color Palette for Late Summer
Their palette was olive green with hints of butter yellow and dusty blue, and the theme they gave us was two words: earth and love.
In late summer around Tahoe, that's exactly right. Olive sits against the pines instead of fighting them, butter yellow does what the dry grass and the late light are already doing, and dusty blue picks up the lake and the sky.
It showed up in the olive napkins and green runners down the reception tables, the white florals and greenery, and the matching green floral robes the bridesmaids wore getting ready. Alejandro wore a tan suit. Classic, understated, and not fussy, which is how they described the whole vision.
One detail we loved: their rings photographed on dark slate with a scatter of daisies, and vow books embossed with a tree. Small things, chosen carefully.
Getting Ready at The Chateau at Incline Village
The morning happened on site, which is the quiet benefit of a venue with dedicated getting-ready quarters. Sheila's gown hung against the stone and timber before she got into it, and the bridesmaids got ready around her in their green florals.
Alejandro got ready separately with his guys, fixing a tie in front of a mirror, and there's the usual frame of several men adjusting one man's jacket at once.
Then she stepped into the gown in a wood-panelled room with the train running out across the floor behind her.
A First Look and Private Vows Before the Ceremony
First look and private vows were the first of the three things Sheila and Alejandro said they most wanted to remember.
If you're on the fence about a first look, this is the argument for it. Private vows before the ceremony give you a few minutes that belong to nobody else, on a day when almost nothing else does.
An Outdoor Wedding Ceremony with Lake Tahoe Mountain Views
The ceremony was outside on the lawn, white chairs in rows, pines and mountains filling the background.
It was a late summer afternoon in the sun, so there were white fans for the guests. If you're planning a summer ceremony anywhere around the lake, that's worth copying. Fans are cheap, they photograph beautifully when a hundred people lift them at once, and they keep your guests comfortable enough to actually be present.
They came back down the aisle into a storm of what their guests were throwing, and there's a frame just past the last row where Alejandro dips her on the grass.
Golden Hour Wedding Portraits on the Incline Village Golf Course
Afterward we got them out onto the open grass with the mountains behind, and later into the trees.
The light at Incline Village in the last hour of a summer evening is soft and low, and the course gives you something most Tahoe venues don't: wide open foreground with the Sierra stacked up behind it. We used Sheila's veil in a few, and her train running out across the grass in others, and there's a quiet one of the two of them at dusk with the ridgeline going blue.
A Grand Ballroom Reception at The Chateau at Incline Village
Dinner happened inside under the timber beams, long tables with green runners, white florals, and olive napkins, with the stone fireplaces anchoring each end of the room.
Sheila and Alejandro came into the room with their hands in the air. Toasts happened. The hugging between courses never really stopped, which tracks for a couple who told us what they cared about most was the people and the moments.
What they wanted was for the whole thing to feel less like a formal event and more like the best weekend vacation with their favorite people. For a guest list where most people were seeing Tahoe for the first time, that's exactly what it became.
What Happens When the Power Goes Out at Your Wedding
Then the power went out.
Not a flicker. The whole venue, dark, starting around 6:30 in the evening and staying that way while a reception for more than a hundred people was underway.
This is the kind of thing nobody plans for. It isn't on any checklist, your venue can't promise it won't happen, and there's no vendor you can hire whose job is specifically "what if the electricity stops."
We carry our own lighting to every wedding. Not as a nice-to-have, and not just for the dance floor look, but because a wedding day has exactly one take and the sun goes down on schedule whether the building cooperates or not. So we pulled out everything we had and put it to work lighting the room so the party could keep going.
The dance floor photos from that night are some of our favorites from the whole year. Lit by flash in a dark room, with everyone going for it anyway, Alejandro up in the air at one point. Dancing was the third thing on Sheila and Alejandro's list of what they most wanted to remember, and they got it, power or no power.
The lesson for couples isn't "buy backup lights." It's to ask your vendors what they carry and what they'd do if something went sideways. The answer tells you a lot about who you're hiring.
What Sheila & Alejandro Said About Their Lake Tahoe Wedding Photos
Getting a note like that is the whole job. Here's what they sent us after the wedding:
“Rob and M were AMAZING to work with! From the very beginning, they were incredibly prepared, professional, and so much fun to have around on our wedding day. We had an unexpected power outage that shut off all power at our venue starting around 6:30 PM, forcing us to continue the celebration without electricity. Thankfully, Vild Photography came prepared with several of their own extra lights and immediately jumped in to help. Their preparedness made such a huge difference and quite literally helped save the night so the party could keep going! Beyond their incredible professionalism and preparedness, they brought such amazing energy and made us feel completely comfortable in front of the camera. We are so grateful to have had them there to capture our wedding day and can’t thank them enough for everything they did. We HIGHLY recommend Vild Photography to anyone looking for an incredibly talented, professional, and genuinely amazing team. We couldn’t have asked for better photographers!”
How to Plan a Wedding at The Chateau at Incline Village
What's Included at The Chateau at Incline Village?
The facility rental covers the Grand Ballroom, the deck, heat lamps, tables, chairs, and setup, with upgrades available. For a couple planning from out of the area, that's the whole reason to look here: fewer vendors to source, coordinate, and chase.
What Are the Ceremony Options at The Chateau?
There are several on the property, including the 10th Tee Box overlooking the golf course, a tree-lined Creekside site between holes 11 and 18 that holds up to 100 guests, and an indoor Fireside option at the stone fireplace. Burnt Cedar Beach Peninsula is available in certain months for IVGID picture pass holders.
How Many Guests Can The Chateau Hold?
The Grand Ballroom runs 5,200 square feet and divides into three rooms, so it scales from a small dinner up to a large reception. Confirm your number with the venue, since capacity depends on your floor plan and dance floor size.
Is Incline Village Good for Out-of-Town Guests?
Yes. It's on Tahoe's Nevada side on the North Shore, with lodging, restaurants, and beaches close by, and Reno-Tahoe International is the nearest airport.
[VILD: Add the drive times you quote couples from Reno, Truckee, and Sacramento.]
Do You Need Fans or Shade for a Summer Tahoe Ceremony?
If your ceremony is in open sun in July or August, yes. Sheila and Alejandro gave their guests white fans, and at 6,200 feet that's a practical call, not a decorative one. The sun is stronger up here than most visitors expect.
What Happens If the Power Goes Out at Your Wedding?
More than you'd think keeps working, and the rest depends on what your vendors brought. Sheila and Alejandro lost power at their venue at 6:30pm and the party kept going. Ask your photographer, DJ, and caterer what they carry and what their plan is if the building goes dark. Most couples never need the answer, and the ones who do are glad they asked.
Planning a Wedding at The Chateau at Incline Village or Around Lake Tahoe?
We're VILD Photography, Robert and Marie, a husband-and-wife team based in Tahoe. We show up prepared, we bring our own light, and we'd rather be in the middle of your dance floor than watching from the edge of it.
If you're planning a wedding at The Chateau at Incline Village or anywhere around the lake, tell us about it. We'd love to hear where it's happening.
Vendors:
Photographer: @vildphotography
Venue: @inclinevillageweddings
Wedding Planner: @envyeventmanagementnv
Florist: @candlelight_and_roses
DJ: @djgoldieluxx
Hair & Makeup: @sarapylemakeup
Cake Maker: @lazybearbakerytahoe
