Emily & Ryan Say "I Do" - Forest House Lodge, Foresthill CA.

I am so excited to share this wedding as my last wedding of the year. There is no way I would rather have had it than to be at the Forest House Lodge with my best friend from college, Emily, as she married the man of her dreams, Ryan. After months and months of planning, Emily & Ryan and their families put on one awesome wedding. Now, since Emily is a dear friend of mine, I was also asked to be in the wedding. How does one photograph a wedding and be in it, you ask? With the help of my good friend, Don Campbell, and my boyfriend Sean Orozco, we made it happen. While preparing the wedding day photography schedule, I made sure Don and Sean would be covering anything I could not.

For those who do not know about Forest House Lodge, it is a rustic mountain venue located in Foresthill CA. The lodge itself is a three-story log cabin complete with a full bar, a glamorous and spacious bridal suite, a massive game room (ping pong, billiards, shuffle board, foosball and air hockey), a private man cave and an entire room dedicated to Rock Band. Yeah, it’s pretty spectacular! The ceremony site is just 2 miles down the road at a spot Grand Sierra Point - a stunning site overlooking the canyon. This venue was perfect for Emily and Ryan: chic and elegant for Emily, rustic for Ryan and fun for all.

The ladies spent the morning in the bridal suite getting their hair and makeup done while sipping on mimosas. Emily surprised her bridal party with silk getting-ready robes. Emily looked gorgeous! Her dress was stunning and her hair and makeup were flawless. But what really made Emily, Emily was the pink flower in her hair - it tied everything together. With our pink dresses and shoes, we really looked great with our bride.

For this wedding, the groomsmen outnumbered the bridesmaids two-to-one. They were wearing pink vests and ties, while the father-of-the-groom, the ring boy and the best man were given unique vests to wear for during the ceremony. Despite one of Ryan’s two best men (his brother) being in another state, because he and his wife were having a baby, he got dressed up and we were able to get some creative photos with him using an iPad with FaceTime.

All the details that made up Emily and Ryan's wedding were perfect! The beer koozies as a wedding favor, the axe to cut the cake, the pumpkin centerpieces, and the "with us in spirit" table turned out stunning and really made their day unique. It truly was a magical day and I am so glad to have been part of it. Congratulations to the newlyweds, Ryan and Emily Bateman!!! I wish you many, many years of happiness and I hope you will always look back on these photos to remember this day.