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Mono Lake Wedding with Artsy DIY Style

Real Mountain Wedding | Near Mammoth Lakes, CA

When Mammoth Lakes photographer Joel St. Marie showed me Amie and Tobin’s wedding and asked if I’d like it for my blog, I nearly fell out of my chair. Like seriously, you have to ask Joel?  Yes I want it for my blog!  Not only is it lovely, and beautifully shot, but this DIY wedding has one of the coolest ceremony ideas I’ve come across in my 2 years of blogging about weddings.

Badass Ceremony Idea: The bride and groom are graphic artists and they wanted the ceremony to be an expression of themselves. They created a work of art and a tag on the fly as part of their ceremony. They took two colors of paint to start, sort of like the classic sand ceremony, where two colors become one.  They “tagged” a logo for themselves, then added natural materials from the ceremony site: sand, leaves, branches and the like to complete the piece. LOVE!

 Basic Stats:

  • This was a Thursday Wedding. Why? Because it was the Groom’s birthday, and that was also the day they met. Awww!
  • The ceremony was held at the County Park at Mono Lake.
  • There were 100 guests.
  • A duo sang an interactive “Wedding song.” They sang “there’s going to be a wedding today, a wedding today and wedding today,” and the help up cue cards for the audience to repeat the chorus: “There’s going to be a wedding today, a wedding today and wedding today.”
  • Most of the wedding was DIY-ed or done using “friendors”.

 

 Mountain Advice from the Photographer

How would you describe a typical Mammoth Lakes Wedding? Natural, laid back, and fun.

What should every Mountain Bride know about getting married in the mountains? Weather in the mountains can change at any moment. Have fun no matter what the weather is doing.

What is a must-do activity for destination couples and their guests while they’re in the Eastern Sierra? Visit Mono Lake!

What wedding tradition do you love the most? I love the bride’s dress. It represents the contrast between formality and nature. I always find it so special to get dressed up, even if you’re a jeans and tee shirt guy like me. [Wearing a suit] was a last-minute decision I made for myself, and I’m happy I did it.

Which wedding tradition do you wish would go by the wayside? None. Mountain Brides lean towards the non-traditional, so during most of the weddings I shoot I see couples putting so much thought into what means the most to them. At the end of the day, it’s their wedding, not mine. I just want to celebrate it right along side them and give them something beautiful to remember it by.

What’s your best advice for mountain brides? I have a different take than you might as the Hindsight Bride. I think you should make a vow never to look back on your wedding and pick it apart.

Team Wedding: