Bear Valley Wedding | California Destination Wedding Photographer
I remember sitting in my hotel room near Yosemite National Park on a much-needed vacation earlier this year and chatting over Facetime with Rochelle about the wedding she was planning in Bear Valley with her now-husband. I had just checked into the room and was eager for our call. With spotty wifi and a few technical difficulties we had to work through, eventually, Rochelle and I became super excited the more we learned about one another. When she explained to me what she envisioned for her day, I knew exactly how to make it all come to life!
R&V met on a dating app in 2019 while one of them was in the states and the other was in Brazil. Shortly after meeting, the two fell in love and decided to have their wedding in one of the most magical places with an even more incredible view. R&V shared a love for the mountains and forest landscape Bear Valley offers. With the restrictions of COVID, Vinicius' family were not able to travel from Brazil to the states to celebrate their marriage, so the importance of their photos was that much more crucial to have.
Every detail from the day was intentional and perfect from the ceremony location with a view of the mountains, the dried flowers guests were given to throw in celebration of the couple, down to the landscape at sunset for their couple photos which were TO-DIE-FOR! Their reception location was held at Bear Valley lodge, and the details were amazing here too! They had an illuminated sign that spelled "LOVE," and hand-made paper light sculptures that hung from the ceiling, adding a pop of white to the moody lodge.
Two years before their wedding day, I bought tickets to see one of my favorite standup comics @whitneycummings, in Sacramento. After a pandemic and many reschedules, the show was eventually moved to 9.25.21, but I already had booked Rochelle and Vinicius. Although it would have been awesome to see standup, I'm so glad I could be a part of this fantastic day. The day before their wedding, R & V were in a car accident. Luckily everyone was okay, just shaken up with minor cuts and bruises. This is the thing with weddings, no matter how much you plan and account for everything, it's impossible to plan for every mishap. These two showed up, stole the show, and partied until 1:30 am… did I mention they looked absolutely amazing when they said their "I do's" nearly 8,000 feet up!? Well, they looked fantastic! Enjoy Rochelle and Vinicius' wedding!
Couple: @r3boucas & @shellstryker
Dress: @davidsbridal
Bow ties: @azazieofficial
Bridesmaids dresses: @azazieofficial & @showmeyourmumu
Florist: @oliveandrosedesigns
Makeup: @ashleylaraynebeauty
DJ: @soundextreme
Venue: @bearvalleyresort