This Couple Celebrated Their Love of the Great Outdoors with a French-Inspired Lakeside Wedding

A Custom Stationery Suite

A variety of materials and printing methods were used to create the custom invitation suite and day-of paper components. "For Mia and Walter's invitations, I was inspired by Danielle's beautiful vision of a fresh take on summer colors over Lake Tahoe, while still being elegant and warm," says Lacy Geary of Paper Birch Designs. "We used a calligraphy font for the invitations and other elements of the day mixed with a classic font."

Thick cotton paper was used for the invitations, which featured letterpress mixed with a silver-foil tree detail. The edges were also trimmed in silver foil. "One of my favorite parts of the invitations were the vellum overlays with a water-colored image of Lake Tahoe in the many shades of blue you see in the landscape," adds Lacy. "The final touch was the handwritten calligraphy addresses on the front of the deep blue envelopes."

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All Dressed Up

The couple posed with their wedding party after the ceremony; the bride wore a Daalarna wedding dress, while Walter donned a light gray suit from the Black Tux, paired with a blue tie. "He and his groomsmen also wore socks patterned with pine trees and bears that Walter proudly found himself in a shop near our apartment in San Francisco," says Mia.

Mia's bridesmaids wore green dresses from Acler—complete with modern asymmetrical hemlines—which nodded to the natural surroundings.

Something Blue

Touches of tweedia were incorporated into the romantic, vintage-inspired bouquet of ivory, mauve, purples, and French-blue florals. "The most perfect ruffly garden roses [were used] for that hint of vintage, and clematis vines for French-country vibes," says floral designer Natasha Kolenko of Golden Fields Floristry.

Petite Boutonnières

Natasha centered each boutonnière with a small ivory button dahlia as the point of cohesion, surrounded with varying accent flowers such as blue tweedia, local yarrow, and snowberries. The boutonnière tags, created by Lacy, were laser engraved and repurposed as bookmarks for the guys.

Stunning Ceremony Décor

Masses of pastel florals in white ceramic pots decorated the entrance of the ceremony aisle, while additional blooms composed a lovely arch at the altar. "We brought in white bistro-style chairs as a nod to the feel of a French café" says Danielle, "and guests were treated to a spectacular view of the west shore of Lake Tahoe."

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Darling DIY

One thing that was really important to the groom was having an unplugged ceremony. With the help of family and friends, the pair created "sleeping bags" into which people physically put their phones during the ceremony.

Little Ones

"Flower girls wore white dresses with embroidered starflowers, a cutout back, and tulle overlay by BHLDN," says the bride. "Looking for their dresses was probably one of my favorite parts of the planning process; there are so many adorable dresses to choose from!"

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A Sweet Ceremony

The couple exchanged vows they wrote themselves in their non-religious ceremony, which included a pair of readings performed by two of their aunts: an excerpt from My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir and a passage from Every Day by David Levithan.

A Nutty Card Display

Seating assignments were clipped to bags of pecans, which doubled as escort cards; a sign conveyed that the bride and groom were as "nuts" about their guests as they were for each other.

Sweet Sips

Guests sipped on two signature drinks during the cocktail hour: Mia's fig-and-rosemary "Mountain Mule" and Walter's "Wicked Old Fashioned."

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A Light, Airy Reception Vibe

Organic wood tables with white base legs paired with white bistro chairs brightened up the deck space overlooking the water.

Luxe Linens

"We pulled natural flax linen runners with a feminine viney print to bring the French-inspired theme to life," says Danielle.

Pretty Pastels

Pots of pretty pastel flowers dotted the reception tables. Handmade Portuguese chargers were combined with Heath Ceramics china for the reception pace settings, with soft blue Belgian linen napkins rounding out the tableaux. "We loved the juxtaposition between vintage and modern-organic," says Danielle. "The completed design was fresh, organic, and colorful!"

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Gluten-Free Eats

Guests enjoyed a salad of roasted baby beets, peppered white goat cheese, baby arugula, champagne vinaigrette, and kale for their first course, while entrées were composed of either pistachio-crusted halibut, an herb-crusted filet, or tomato risotto with broccolini and carrots.

An Elegant Dessert Bar

A trio of cakes designed by Paper Heart Patisserie was featured along with French macarons and custom sugar cookies on a charming shelf unit come dessert.

A Joyful First Dance

The couple took their first dance to "I Feel Good" by James Brown. "We wanted an upbeat, classic song that would help us express how happy we felt!" says Mia.

Later on in the evening, a flash mob coordinated by Mia's mom and performed by all the wedding guests took place during the reception, surprising the bride and groom in the best possible way.

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A Beautiful Evening

As the sun went down, guests spilled onto the pier, where they could take a respite from dancing.

Looking back, Mia has a great piece of advice to share with other couples who are planning their big days: "Your wedding day can be whatever you want (or don't want) it to be; remind yourself of that throughout the whole planning process!"

Sources

Photography, Joel Serrato
Venue, West Shore Café
Event Design and Production, Elise Events
Videography, LoveSpun Films
Flowers, Golden Fields Floristry
Invitations and Stationery, Paper Birch Designs
Bride's Gown, Daalarna
Veil, WildBride
Hair Ornament, Jennifer Behr
Shoes, Ulla Johnson
Hair and Makeup, Seven 31
Bridesmaids' Dresses, Acler
Groom's Attire, The Black Tux
Groomsmen's Attire, The Black Tux
Catering, West Shore Café
Cake, Paper Heart Pattiserie
Rentals, La Tavola Linen; Theoni Collection