Oct 10, 2014
This waterfront Lake Tahoe wedding is like a pure breath of fresh air. Take one look and then all you want is more… And we are more than happy to oblige!
Between Style Me Pretty’s feature of Emily and Joe’s Lake Tahoe wedding back in hot, summery August and our original debut in July, you should feel rejuvenated and revived with wedding inspiration! If you happened to miss this white modern classic lakefront wedding due to summer vacation or hanging out at the beach, you can catch it again right here!
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If you still can’t catch your breath, there are more photos of this exquisite private lakefront wedding in our Lake Tahoe Wedding Gallery! Congratulations to Emily and Joe!
Tahoe Signature of Style,
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Aug 11, 2014
Skimming through the thousands and thousands of photos we have from our past Merrily Wed® Lake Tahoe weddings, it struck me the range of colors that presented itself. Why not put together a handy dandy little guide to the secret meaning behind each color?
We never know what colors our next client may fancy and the opportunity to do something new is one of my favorite aspects of my job. Even with the same basic color palette, little twists and adjustments to the primary colors make every wedding different and a true testimony to the couple.
This detailed guide below will show you what your favorite color means, what it may say about your personality and how the colors you select for your wedding color palette can influence the overall feel of your wedding day. The psychology of color is real and it impacts you daily so why not keep this in mind for one of the most important days of your life as well!
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Red:
Red is the most intense color of the color wheel. Red stimulates energy as well as increases enthusiasm. Red symbolizes love, passion, courage and rage. Red also emits a sense of protection from anxiety and fears. If red is your favorite color you are passionate, maintain a busy lifestyle, desire strength and may be a risk taker.
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Pink:
Pink is fun and exciting, some shades of pink can have almost the same energy as red. Red is passionate without being an overly aggressive hue. Pink is the color of happiness. Pink stimulates energy, encourages action and confidence. If pink is your favorite color you tend to be calm, sensitive and sympathetic. You are also compassionate towards others and dislike controversy.
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Orange:
Orange, a close relative of red, radiates warmth and energy. Orange stimulates appetite, socialization, as well as activity. If your favorite color is orange you are friendly, confident and full of energy. You balance your life with business and pleasure and enjoy both!
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Yellow:
Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment and happiness. Yellow is mentally stimulating and encourages communication. Yellow will increase optimism, energy, as well as spark creative thoughts. If yellow is your favorite color you are creative, intelligent and happiness comes naturally to you.
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Green:
Green occupies more space in the color wheel than any other color and is the second most popular favorite color. Green is a large contributor to the colors of nature. The color green is seen as tranquil and refreshing, with a balance of cool and warm hues. Most shades of green are known to be physically and mentally relaxing. If green is your favorite color you enjoy the nature that surrounds you and love spending time in the outdoors. You also enjoy calming your loved ones, as well as helping the less fortunate.
Teal:
Teal has the calming effect of both green and blue. Teal represents sophistication, generosity and creativity. Teal encourages communication as well as creativity. If your favorite color is teal you tend to be sensitive, intellectual, imaginative and charming. You also tend to be self-reliant and independent.
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Blue:
The color blue is the most common favorite color in the world. Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. It invokes rest and can cause the body to produce chemicals that are calming. Not all blues are serene, bright blues can become dramatic and cause exhilaration. Blue is the least gender specific color, it appeals equally to both genders. If your favorite color is blue, friends find you to be very trustworthy and patient. You are also conservative and love to have stability in your life.
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Navy:
Navy symbolizes wisdom, self-mastery and spiritual realization. Navy, being a shade of blue, increases communication within yourself. Navy develops intuition, increases solitude and lets you focus on personal issues. If navy is your favorite color you are spiritual, intuitive and intelligent. You are also self-reliant and tend to take on responsibility.
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Purple:
Purple balances red’s stimulation and blue’s calming effect. With a sense of royalty, purple is a color often well liked by very creative personalities. Purple is uplifting, calms nerves, as well as encourages creativity. If purple is your favorite color, you desire respect, power and often tend to be sentimental.
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White:
White projects purity, neutrality and cleanliness. The color white encourages clarity and enables fresh beginnings. White also encourages clearing clutter and purifying thoughts and actions. If white is your favorite color, you prefer a peaceful surrounding and like to be surrounded by truth and innocence.
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Grey:
Grey is the color of knowledge, wisdom and intellect. Grey is also known as the color of compromise because it is a mixture of powerful black and pure white. Grey can sometimes be unsettling because of this compromise, but can also create expectations. If grey is your favorite color you constantly look for peace and composure. You have good business abilities and tend to work hard, sometimes without reward.
Black:
Black is authoritative, powerful, formal and evokes strong emotions. The color black can create a sense of potential and possibility. If black is your favorite color you are classy and others perceive you as a powerful individual. You are very in tune with your emotions and can be spontaneous.
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Brown:
Brown symbolizes stability, reliability and approachability. Brown is the color of earth and is affiliated with being natural and organic. Brown creates a feeling of wholesomeness, stability and orderliness. If your favorite color is brown you are dependable, patient and reliable. You tend not to be impulsive, because you are organized and everything is well planned.
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Champagne:
Champagne represents the basics, the essentials. This color incorporates the warmth of brown with the crispness of white. It creates a feeling that is calm, relaxing and imparts a sensation of simplicity. If your favorite color is champagne, you are conservative, dependable and friendly. You also tend to be a perfectionist and like everything to be precise.
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Colors influence and reveal more than just adding some visual interest or depth to an area or object. Keep in mind that a single description may not fit you perfectly and it may be a combination of colors that describe you best.
You may consider these meanings when selecting the color palette for your wedding to convey the feeling that you desire. More importantly though, just have fun with it! You can never go wrong with your favorites and your wedding will be a true reflection of yourself!
Tahoe Signature of Style,
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Jul 30, 2014
As the summer has sailed, surrender to the oh-so cherished tradition and let the bachelorette parties begin! Whether your bridal party wants to relax in the sun or dance all night long, we just swooned over these hottest bachelorette party destinations. And we think you will too…
1. Las Vegas Not surprised here at all! This is definitely the number one destination for your ‘maids to soak up some sun from daytime swanky pool parties to fabulous dining and outrageous entertainment.
2. Miami Think sun-soaked pool parties or white sandy beaches…a perfect place to sip a cocktail or two with your besties.
3. New York City The Big Apple offers such a variety of sightseeing to incredible cuisine and nightlife. Your luxurious ladies will definitely love this bach weekend.
4. New Orleans
Have a bit of a rowdier experience in mind? Then Bourbon Street is the place to be! Jazz music, creole cuisine, and truly a party bar scene…this place will not disappoint!
5. Napa Valley
Okay, so relaxing at world-class spas or drinking wine in style is more your idea of celebrating your upcoming nuptials, then Napa Valley it is. Gorgeous wine country views coupled with some special girl time…priceless!
6. Austin
Ahhh, the live music capital of the world, Austin is the perfect destination for the music loving ladies. Party house boating on Lake Travis is sure to heat up the day!
7. Nashville
Get your dancin’ boots on and get ready for some of the most iconic bar hopping you will ever experience. And saddle up for all things country!
8. Scottsdale
Beautiful desert weather and transcendent spas provide an ideal setting for a relaxing girls’ getaway. Lively bars and restaurants in Old Town Scottsdale make place this city on the top ten for sure.
9. Atlantic City For all our East Coast brides…bask on the beach during the day then try out your lady luck while gambling and dancing at the casino clubs.
10. Chicago
This cosmopolitan city has a fantastic restaurant and bar scene. Lots of alternative activities for your celebration including cooking and art classes, comedy and cabaret shows, burlesque classes and more.
Thanks to Glamour for the inspiration!
Tahoe Signature of Style,
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Jul 23, 2014
Emily and Joe’s lovely Lake Tahoe wedding is a modern classic. They exchanged vows, sipped signature drinks, dined under twinkling lights and danced on a custom white dance floor with sparkling crystal chandeliers overhead – all by the water’s edge!
Held at the West Shore Cafe and Inn, the waterfront space was transformed with lush Southern-style white hydrangea blooms woven with magnolia leaves from Blooms by Martha Andrews.
“We knew that we wanted a more traditional looking wedding, rather than Tahoe rustic, and the team at Merrily Wed® helped our vision come to life,” Emily says. A mostly white palette mixed with a light dove gray allowed texture to play into the decor.
The classic style of Jonathan Young Weddings photography captured this wedding perfectly!
Her adorable 4 flower girls can’t go without a mention either – babies breath hair wreaths with dove gray ribbon completed their ensemble and two dashing ring bearers rounded out the beautiful wedding party.
The thrills began with Joe making a grand entrance on a classic woody boat with nothing less than formal tux attire for the groomsmen, junior groomsmen and for him. The bridesmaids were gorgeous in long chiffon light gray Amsale dresses while Emily herself wore a stunning Vera Wang gown.
Gray escort cards with white script along with silver julep cups and platinum beaded glass chargers all subtly wove the touches of gray & silver.
Prominent accents include a custom monogram incorporated in the boxwood wreaths, dining napkins, goodie bags, lounge pillows, matchboxes…
All white luscious florals, white linen, a white leather lounge, a delicious white wedding cake – wedding white was never seen better!
Elegance in simplicity… congratulations Emily and Joe!
Tahoe Signature of Style,
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Jun 19, 2014
The West Shore and the East Shore of Lake Tahoe each have a special allure that draws visitors to their sunny beaches – some sand and some rock. They also both have a wealthy history dating back to the 18th century thanks to the aristocratic families that weaved their legacy with Tahoe lore. At Merrily Wed® we have found these shores to be memorable locations to hold your destination Lake Tahoe wedding.
George Whittel built a fabulous summer home that he named Thunderbird Lodge. It sits in isolation on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. This section of the lake is rugged and pristine, in contrast to much of the rest of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. His failure to allow development on the 27 miles of shoreline that he bought more likely was a result of wanting privacy than being a nature conservationist. Regardless, it has kept this section of the lake from being developed with hotels, homes and shops.
Thunderbird Lodge – photo courtesy of Catherine Hall Studios
Visitors to Lake Tahoe often may not be aware of historical attractions such as Thunderbird Lodge and two other mansions on the western shore that tell a tale of how the fabulously wealthy spent their summers at Tahoe back in the first half of the 1900’s. All three homes are open to tours every summer and two of the three are beautiful venues to host your destination Lake Tahoe wedding.
Landscaping at the Thunderbird Lodge includes waterfalls, pools and streams connected by winding stone pathways and flourishes such as a stone shamrock and other whimsical designs. One tunnel leads to the infamous Card House where Whittel indulged his passion for late night card games and alcohol.
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Thunderbird Lodge – photo courtesy of Catherine Hall Studios
Your wedding guests may even be able to see the Card House on a tour of the famous Thunderbird property during your wedding. A tower was added to the original lodge after Whittel’s death by investor Jack Dreyfus Jr, where today the space is now used for weddings and special events. The Thunderbird Lodge Preservation Society manages the proceeds from tours and events to help maintain and restore the property and the 55-ft Thunderbird mahogany yacht.
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Thunderbird Lodge – photo courtesy of Catherine Hall Studios
The Hellman-Ehrman Mansion on the west shore is the largest of these three mansions consisting of 11,703 square feet and three stories. Hellman and his descendants used Pine Lodge from 1903 until 1965 when Hellman’s granddaughter sold it to the state of California. It is now part of Sugar Pine State Park and commonly known as the Ehrman Mansion. Weddings are held on the lawn by the lake and receptions are commonly located on the hilltop closer to the Pine Lodge/Ehrman Mansion.
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Ehrman Mansion – photo courtesy of Brian MacStay Photography
The third historic mansion rich in history and wealth is Vikingsholm just a little farther down the west shore from Hellman-Ehrman Mansion. This was Lora J Knight’s summer retreat whose estimated wealth at that time was $43 million, built in 1929, and sits at the head of Emerald Bay, arguably Lake Tahoe’s most scenic spot. She wanted the mansion to look Scandinavian as the bay reminded her of fjords in Norway.
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Vikingsholm – photo courtesy of Vikingsholm.com
She also owned tiny Fannette Island which sits in the middle of Emerald Bay. A small stone teahouse that she built sits on its crest. She rarely used it because of the difficulty in accessing it. For the same reason Vikingsholm, despite its intriguing beauty, is not an ideal wedding location due to the narrow path one must hike to reach it.
Whether selecting the West Shore or the East Shore, incorporating one or more of these locations would be a great idea for visiting guests to see more of Lake Tahoe’s rich history. And if you are lucky, one historic site may be host to your wedding itself!
Tahoe Signature of Style,
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