Flotilla Wedding | Lake Tahoe, CA | Julie + Tom

Julie knew EXACTLY what she wanted for her wedding and what she wanted was a little unconventional.  Julie and Tom wanted to wed in true Tahoe style with a Flotilla wedding.  “What’s a flotilla?” you ask.  In short, it’s a fleet of boats.  In this case, 8 or 9 boats!  Julie and Tom spread their guests out over a number of boats and we all toured across Lake Tahoe to the Rubicon Wall outside DL Bliss State Park.

Now, I love unconventional weddings so a Flotilla wedding was right up my alley.  That being said, this was by far the most challenging wedding I’ve ever photographed.  The logistics of moving hundreds of people across a lake on time were difficult.  I am INCREDIBLY thankful I brought a third photographer on that day to put on another boat!  I was undecided on where I wanted everyone until the last possible second and ultimately, there were two of us on the ceremony pontoon boat, provided by Lake Tahoe Boat Rides, along with a third photographer on a 2nd pontoon boat.  In the end, I stationed Nicky from Nemus Photography up on the roof of our pontoon boat while I sort-of got to move around on the floor of it!

What started as an unconventional idea became a lovely afternoon of shared experience.  We got to spend a few hours on boats on Lake Tahoe, cruise across the lake, soak up the sunshine, drink champagne, and enjoy everyone’s company.  Not only was this Flotilla wedding one of the most interesting I’ve ever been a part of, but certainly one of the most memorable.

I have way too many photos that I love from the ceremony and lake, so I only included those below.  In this life of isolation that we’re living right now, a day on boats on the lake sounds incredibly alluring.