California Wedding Reception – Lake Shasta

It has been a week since the California wedding, but I forgot to post photographs of the wedding reception.  Many times I forget about the reception, but I couldn’t forget this one.  The setting for the wedding reception was at a river home north of Lake Shasta.  The house had like 6 rooms, 3 bathrooms, bar, pool table, big screen tv, huge kitchen, and an incredible yard big enough to hold a huge party.  Liz and Seth also had a second place next door rented out for their guests that made the party that much bigger.  The reception was outdoor under the stars with a moutain background.  A train made itself known just 20 yards away a couple of times, but just brought more coolness to an already hip event.  Cakes were Costco, but were decorated with butterfly’s.  For the first time ever the cake was “pre-tasted” by a guest, and worst off a few butterfly’s were missing.

If I could have my wedding reception in California this house would have to top my list of really cool places.

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California Wedding Day 2 – Wedding

Wow…. A real experience.  Seth and Liz made it clear to me before I left my little comfort zone of Michigan that their wedding was going to be different and most of it had to do with location.  Seth, since Liz will never tell you this  “you were right”.  The family compound was set up for multiple families to live in one location in harmony.  Just weeks prior old cars, trucks, vans, toilets, sinks, tractors, bulldozer, and so much more were removed from the compound to make room for the cars not on blocks to arrive with the wedding guests.  You would have to thank the “Beer Pong” and Horseshoe Champion for all the hard work in clearing an area for a wedding.  I am not describing this as a junk yard.  I don’t want to portray this as anything but an awesome stuff filled compound of “love” and “peace”.  After the family welcomed us into their lives on Friday, our goal was to photograph the wedding not make fun of their home.  I wanted to make sure the scene was set.

The wedding day started at the river front home up near Shasta mountain.  The bride and many of the guests hung around, swimming in the Sacramento River, drinking beer, setting up tables, taking long walks, and just plain having fun.  Time didn’t matter much on this wedding day.  The bride was on “Giles” time which meant an hour or more late wasn’t late.  We left for the thirty minute drive to the compound knowing Liz was at least an hour behind the planned 2pm wedding time.  Besides she didn’t even know if  her wedding dress was done or not.  The gown was hand made by her sister in law, and still needed a few finishing touches when we left Friday night.  By Saturday the last remaining details were finished and Liz fit it perfectly!

Seth (dressed to kill) in his linen tux that was hand crafted by his mother was hanging around on the roof patiently waiting his big moment.  The guests waited as well with drinks in hand, many wondering the compound looking for hidden treasure.  The wedding started only an hour and half behind schedule, but was very unique.  Liz and Seth were married by a good friend (Justice of the Peace) under an arbor in the middle of the compound.  Instead of your traditional rows of seating, Liz and Seth chose to have their guest stand in a circle around them.  The ceremony was funny, beautiful, and ended  with canon firing in the background.

The family formals went as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Only one pick-up had to be moved in order to take any of the photographs.  The bridal party was easy to work with and had their own ways of making the fun pictures … Fun! I am saving the reception photographs for another post.

*Disclaimer*  I asked Liz and Seth about what I could write about this wedding.  I am sorry if it sounds kinda redneck.. But it was taken in the middle of a compound in northern California.  No animals were killed in the making of this wedding.

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