Ally & Manny love Lake Tahoe. Ally grew up coming here, they continued making trips together once they started dating, and when they first reached out about their wedding, one of the things they wanted most was to highlight that big blue water in their photos.
So obviously, we weren’t waiting until the wedding.
We headed to Zephyr Cove for their engagement photos in November, which is honestly one of my favorite little windows for a Lake Tahoe session.
Why I love Zephyr Cove engagement photos in November
By November, Tahoe’s summer tourism has died waaaaay down. The beaches are quieter, the sun sets earlier, and you can get that gorgeous fall golden light without sharing the shoreline with half of California.
But we’re usually not fully into Tahoe winter yet.
Obviously, Mother Nature makes absolutely no promises around here. But if you’re dreaming about Lake Tahoe engagement photos without summer crowds or a full snowy session, late fall can hit that sweet spot.
For Ally & Manny, it absolutely did.
We had warm golden light coming through the trees before heading down toward the water. Then we got those big Tahoe blues as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.
Their first professional photos together
These two met in college through mutual friends and while working together on campus. They stayed friends throughout all four years before things changed after graduation. By the time we did their engagement session, they’d been together for four and a half years.
And despite all that time together, this was their first time taking professional photos as a couple.
Going into the session, they told me they wanted posed photos to still look natural. Neither of them particularly loved the idea of being caught in an awkward off-guard photo, which: FAIR.
That’s pretty much exactly where my approach lives anyway. I’ll give you direction, fix the hands that suddenly forget how hands work when a camera appears, and then give you room to interact with each other.
By the end, we were running around the beach and, per Ally & Manny’s very specific request, shotgunning White Claws by the lake.
A very respectable way to end your first professional photo session, IMO.
From their Zephyr Cove engagement session to their South Lake Tahoe wedding
A few months later, we all came back to South Lake Tahoe. This time Ally had a veil, Manny had a suit, and Lake Tahoe had apparently decided to bring an entire weather system to celebrate.
They got married at The Arch at Lakeside Beach before heading to South of North Brewing Company for their reception. And if you’re wondering what happens when your Tahoe wedding forecast calls for rain, snow & basically everything else Mother Nature has available.
See Ally & Manny’s rainy South Lake Tahoe wedding →
Want your own Lake Tahoe engagement photos?
Whether Tahoe is already part of your story or you just really freaking like the lake, we’ll find a location & season that make sense for what you actually want your photos to look like.
And if I’m photographing your wedding too? Even better. Your engagement session gives us a chance to hang out, get you comfortable in front of my camera & figure out what works for you before the wedding day arrives.
