The Mammoth Wedding Venue Guide: Double Eagle Resort | June Lake, California

June 27, 2020

The Double Eagle Resort is the premiere wedding destination in the June Lake Loop and a space bursting with potential.

It’s got all the elements you’d expect from one of the premiere wedding locales in California:

The pond-side ceremony site is nestled into the base of Carson Peak which towers about 3000 feet above the valley floor.

The entire party can stay within walking distance of the party in one of their modern, yet authentic mountain cabins.

It’s got great indoor and outdoor reception spaces that accommodate large or small parties in every season.

It’s situated in the heart of the June Lake Loop with a Yosemite-esque vibe and incredible photo opportunities within walking or close driving distance.

It’s got perhaps the region’s best spa facilities—making it a perfect spot to chill out before the big day.

These are just a few of the reasons Double Eagle is a Mammoth-area wedding staple and the location of some of the most memorable wedding parties I’ve been lucky enough to document.

Before I dig in I’ll lay out the scene.

Here are the ceremony sites that I’ve shot:

Ron’s Pond:

Ron’s Pond is the main summer ceremony site and the jewel of the venue. The setting is stunning. It’s different than some of the other, better-known spots like Convict Lake and June Mountain, but it’s just as magnificent in its own way. The proximity to 10,896-foot Carson Peak makes for a truly impactful scene that will have your guests in awe from the moment they see it.

The Eagle’s Landing Deck:

I think this is a winter-only spot because it’s covered in the summer as it’s the main reception space. I’ve done one winter ceremony here and it was spectacular. There was a big storm before the wedding so it had to be shoveled off before the ceremony but the views of snow-caked Carson Peak were amazing. It was freezing though, make sure people are equipped for a frigid 45 minutes.

The Lodge:

This is a small, intimate space for winter weddings. I’d estimate The Lodge to have room for about 40 people and it’s anchored by a beautiful fireplace. There aren’t many good indoor ceremony spots in the Eastern Sierra but this is one of the best ones.

And the reception spaces I’ve shot:

Eagle’s Landing Deck:

The deck is the primary summer reception space. It’s a covered deck next to the restaurant and can handle about 100 guests. It’s great on its own but can become special with a little work from local wedding stylists like Green Fox Events or Rummage Girl Weddings.

Eagle’s Landing Restaurant:

This is the primary winter reception space. I’d estimate the capacity to be about 80. It’s a beautiful, rustic dining room that gets cleared out after dinner and turned into a decent-sized dance floor with an awesome fireplace as the centerpiece.

Here are a few of the reasons I’d recommend Double Eagle for your Mammoth-area wedding:

The cabins and resort rooms vary from luxurious to rustic, but there’s a spot to match anybody’s taste. Plus they’re all within a ten-minute walk from the ceremony and reception sites. Some of them, including the spot the groomsmen often take for their prep, are just a few steps away.
At about 7200 feet in elevation, it’s the lowest venue in the region and less impacted by wind and adverse weather.
The space on the Eagle’s Landing Deck is great for a band.
It’s an easy spot for vendors to access, unlike the ski resort venues of June Mountain and McCoy Station / The Top Gondola. It’s a short walk from the parking lot to all the event spaces and there’s plenty of space for gear.
The creek-side lawn by the restaurant is, by far, the Eastern Sierra’s coolest cocktail hour spot. It makes it easier to take couples out on post-ceremony portrait adventures when I know guests are guaranteed to be enjoying drinks by the creek.
The Double Eagle property extends across the main road (Highway 158) running through the valley. There is a plush (if not slightly weathered) guest house across the street that many couples rent out for the families and a getting-ready spot for some element of the party. Beyond the cabin is the meadow that might be the jewel of The Loop. It’s an expansive grass corridor nestled between the resort and the spectacular Silver Lake. (*One of the coolest paddle board spots in Mammoth). It’s a fantastic spot to shoot sunset photos at the base of Carson Peak, and it’s open enough that you can take advantage of the last bit of afternoon light that you just don’t get in the pine and aspen trees around the main resort area. There are almost always herds of deer scoping out our photo sessions there, and it’s got 360-degree views of the deepest part of the winding valley. The small, private pond at the end of the meadow was featured prominently in the 2013 Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman sci-fi film Oblivion.
There are amazing nooks in the forest surrounding the resort to catch midday light at its best—great for first look and pre-wedding bridal party photos.
The Bodie Room, above the spa, is a functionally great spot for the ladies to prep before the ceremony. It’s a conference room and not the most aesthetically exciting space, but it’s centrally located, private and has room for everybody, including the H&MU team.
The restaurant is located right in the middle of it all so food and drink service for the party is quick and easy.
Beyond the lodging at the resort, there are several great spots for guests to stay within a ten-minute drive of the resort. There are even a few high-end rentals and Airbnb’s within about a mile of the property. One of my favorites is the Yosemite Gateway Chalet just up the road towards June Mountain. This is probably the most luxurious rental space in June outside of the extravagant Victory Lodge (available now for $11,000,000!) and it’s less than a mile from the resort.
There is so much for your guests to do in June Lake during the week of the wedding. Check our weekend guide right here. Some of our favorite activities out there are paddle boarding on Silver Lake or hiking to Parker Lake or Fern Lake, followed by a trip to the Hawaiian-fusion food truck Ohanas 395 and beers at June Lake Brewing.

Things to think about when planning your Double Eagle wedding:

There’s a lot of coordinator turnover here and for years I’ve heard stories of couples having a hard time connecting with their point person. This venue is too good for that to last forever but it’s a thing to keep in mind during the planning process.
Mosquitoes love this place in the summer. Plan for it. The shady cocktail area along the creek is a breeding ground. The field across the highway where we often shoot sunset photos is even worse. It’s really hard to shoot when we’re getting bitten and cleaning up all the red bumps in Photoshop takes a lot of time. Bring bug spray. One couple actually distributed spray for all their guests at cocktail hour and it was that kind of foresight that you need to beat them back.
The resort, and the June Lake Loop, are in the bottom of a deep and narrow canyon. The sun goes behind the looming peaks to the west nice and early—at least an hour before it happens out in the valley or up at higher elevations. The light stays nice in there for several hours after you lose the sun, but those early sunsets are something to plan around.

That’s all for the Double Eagle Resort. The venue’s location at the base of Carson Peak and the surrounding cabins make it one of the coolest wedding venues we’ve experienced and I guarantee your guests are going to have the time of their lives at the wedding. The on-site planning process and execution could require couples to take a more hands-on approach but the aesthetics outweigh the imperfections and we love shooting there.

Check Double Eagle’s website right here.

Scroll down for a gallery of weddings there from the last several years from all the spots we mentioned above.

If you have any questions about Double Eagle or any of our local venues, reach out right here.