A wedding at Lake & Wood was always in the cards for Hailey and Amber — even if the universe had a few detours planned first. Originally set for a backyard ceremony in Colfax, deployment dates had other plans, and the couple pushed to April 2025, booked Lake & Wood, and brought in planner Kendall to pull it all together. Honestly? Best decision ever. And I say that as someone who was there for the whole ride— starting with their engagement session: Dreamy Winter Engagement at Donner Lake

A Wedding at Lake & Wood: The Venue

If you haven’t been to Lake & Wood, add it to your list. Two adorable trailers for getting ready, a ceremony site overlooking the lake, and reception spaces that give you real options — the couple went with the upper space near the ceremony site and it was perfect. It is the kind of venue where you show up and it just works. Hailey and Amber did their florals entirely themselves and they were STUNNING — the kind of thing that looks effortless and you know there were hours behind it. A local taco truck handled the food (so so bomb), every table had its own little dessert spread, and my girl Caroline from Parched Poppies was behind the bar crushing it as always. The whole setup felt completely them — personal, warm, and just really really good.

The Moments That Got Me

Hailey and Amber chose to share their vows privately at their first look — just the two of them before anything else. No audience, no performance, just them. I have photographed a lot of first looks and I will tell you that the private vows ones hit different every single time. These two met on Tinder, knew from the very first time they met in person, and that certainty has never wavered. You could feel it in every single moment of the day. Some couples you just KNOW are meant to be and Hailey and Amber are at the absolute top of that list for me.

I also want to say — and I don’t say this about every couple — these are just genuinely good humans. The kind of people who make you feel like you’ve known them forever. Months after their wedding, Amber was still checking in on me and asking how my mom was doing (she has cancer for those new around here). That is who they are. When you book a wedding photographer you are inviting someone into one of the most important days of your life, and when that person becomes someone you actually care about after the fact — that is everything to me.

Honoring the Ones We Carry With Us

Hailey’s dad had a seat reserved at the ceremony. Every single wedding party member walked down the aisle carrying a rose and placed it on his chair. Hailey wore a necklace with his ashes close to her heart. And in the middle of the ceremony, a crane swooped down over the lake right behind the altar and I will let you take that however you want to take it. The whole room felt it.

They honored him without letting grief take over the day — and that balance is so hard to strike and they did it beautifully. If you are thinking about ways to honor a loved one at your wedding, I wrote a whole post on that here and it is one of my favorites.

And it Wouldn’t be a Wedding at Lake & Wood Without a Party

After dinner the speeches came out and this room could not decide whether to laugh or cry so it just did both. Then a t-shirt toss instead of a bouquet toss because Hailey and Amber were never going to do anything the expected way and that is exactly why I love them. By the end of the night the entire dance floor was packed — drinks up, booty shaking, both brides up in chairs above the crowd while everyone absolutely lost their minds. Myself included, not going to lie.

That is the energy. That is what your wedding day can feel like when you stop trying to make it look a certain way and just let it be yours. Relaxed, joyful, completely personal — and photos that actually show how it felt to be there.

If you are planning a wedding and you want a photographer who is going to show up for you the way Hailey and Amber showed up for each other — I would love to connect!

Dream team:

Lead photo: @danirawsonphoto
Second: @heidipeinthorphoto
Planning: @kendall_melissa_events
Venue: @lakeandwood
Florals: Brides did themselves 🤯
Video: @emeraldcinemaweddingfilms
HAMU: @glamour.by.l_s
Dj: @fogcityentertainment
Catering: @lostacosdelgordo_
Cake: @snapdragonprovisions
Rings: @brilliantearth
Bar: @theparchedpoppies