This wedding with Tia and Curtis on July 5 will be the model of efficiency that all others will be judged by from this point forward. Looking back, especially now in the fall with shorter, cooler days, this one doesn’t even seem possible.
Check this out: we started at the classic Mammoth Mountain Inn for pre-game prep before heading back down the hill for the ceremony at Forest Chapel at Twin Lakes. I jumped in the lake for a group shot with everybody on the iconic bridge there, then we jumped in the car and jammed back up to Main Lodge, where the day began several hours earlier. I did a quick change from board shorts to wedding slacks and ski boots (super kook style), and, along with videographers Sam & Greg Weddings, we went straight to the top of Mammoth Mountain for a 7:00 p.m. shred down a freshly groomed Cornice Bowl for a grand entrance at McCoy Station halfway up the resort.
Only after massive, wet winters can these things really happen. Sure, Mammoth is often open for skiing through 4th of July, but it’s usually way sketchier than it was–the planets aligned to make this possible.
The snow was freshly groomed and unlike any I’ve ever skied. It was super smooth and slushy, and kind of slid down around us like a wet, loose avalanche that you might experience in a spring back country ski tour.
We triumphantly rode into a cheering crowd at McCoy Station just in time for dinner, some hilarious speeches including a tag team jam from the moms, and then went back outside for family photos in the cool night air at 10,000 feet.
The reception party with Rick from FreshTracks Entertainment was predictably raucous, and we ended the whole shebang with some Milky Way shots under the perfect summer skies.
That’s it from one of the all-time epic California mountain weddings. There was swimming, there was snowboarding and skiing, there were so many killer dance floor moments. I wish that could be an annual thing but beyond the erratic nature of our winters, and the fact that these two are from Big Bear and consummate snowboarders, it could be a while before another day like this.
Thanks!
- Venue: Mammoth Mountain, Mammoth Mountain Inn, Forest Chapel, McCoy Station and Parallax
- Hair: Allure Salon
- Makeup: Jenny S Pro Makeup
- Flowers: Mums N’ Roses
- Wedding DJ & MC: FreshTracks Entertainment
- Cake: Mountain Cakery
- Videographers: Sam & Greg Weddings
[…] I’ll start this one with a wildcard: if you’re a skiing/snowboarding couple and there’s still snow on the mountain at the time of the wedding, shred into the party. In July 2019, after one of the biggest winters on record, I joined the couple at the Top Gondola after the ceremony and they snowboarded in to McCoy Station for their grand entrance. It was epic. The sun was still high in the sky at 7:00 p.m. and the snow was great. That was the grand entrance to end them all and I don’t see why it couldn’t happen again (with some help from the snow gods). Check right here for more from that day. […]