Wedding at Lake Forest Beach

It’s great to be back in the saddle again!  This is my favorite time of year; the Stanley Cup Finals and wedding season in full bloom combine my favorite things on Earth.  My bride was in full bloom, and I love the current fashion for pregnant brides: She was five months pregnant, and wore a beautiful gown that hugged her baby bump tightly. She was radiant and glowing! This will be a blended family, as the groom has a fantastic 13-year-old son. He was the nicest kid, grinning ear-to-ear the whole day, and greeting everyone with a quiet joy.

After decades on Lake Tahoe, this was my first time at Lake Forest Beach. It has an ocean shore feel to it, and also feels like a secret place untouched by time. Bringing all the chairs for the fifty guests could not have been easy, but it was set up beautifully, with a sweetly draped arch and two buckets of wildflowers on either side. All the people in the audience were wonderful, special souls. My bride and groom felt incredibly solid and dear. This was clearly a fertile crowd; there were lots of baby bumps and giant pointy belly buttons!  The Circle of Life is a Miracle of Life. We went international with blessings: the groom’s sister read the Irish Blessing, and the bride’s brother read the Apache Wedding Blessing. It was a great day to break out in song, “We are One!” I love my job!

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

Finished My Malibu Summer Book

I’ve been busy!  I haven’t been performing too many weddings, but I did finish this cool book I’ve been working on for a while. One of my favorite things about getting older is looking at my life and all the things I’ve experienced. I have lived! This book is about a summer that included hard work and wildly festive celebrations every weekend. My brother and I ran a nudist ranch in the Malibu mountains when we kids. Movie producers and music producers flocked to our ranch. We sang, we laughed, we swam in the pool, we made love, and we danced. We rode horses bareback and naked. We grew vegetables and lived off the land in the “back to the Earth” movement. It was a summer of hard work and hard play. We also rescued some child runaways who’d been sexually abused. It was the first time I’d learned anything so horrible was possible.  There was a murder, that summer, and I don’t want to give away any surprises.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

Dry January, Bountiful February?

Trees are thirsty; you can feel it.  Many people who depend on winter are cranky, even as they enjoy deliciously sunny January days at the beach. If you are silly enough to say to someone on the beach, “what a beautiful day,” you may get lectured about global warming or the ruin of Lake Tahoe’s economy. The ski industry is all we have in winter; gamblers can now go to any number of Indian casinos. Everyone is hurting.

I’m surprised by the lack of January weddings; you’d think people would jump all over the sunny warm beaches for impromptu ceremonies. February–month of romance, perhaps–is booking up. I am telling all my couples flocking to Lake Tahoe for February weddings to have a back-up indoor wedding spot. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, as I look out over a lake that resembles a bathtub slowly draining. Rocks far out toward the middle of the lake are showing; that cannot be good.

In the last twenty years, I’ve seen it snow in every single month of the year except July. I remember blizzards on Father’s Day, so I am not daft to hope for the not-so-strange month of heavy snow in February. Such February months happen, along with the odd “Miracle March,” which has saved us, a few times. Just a few years ago, every day in March brought us heavy snowfall after a hopeless December and January.

So what I’m saying to all my February couples is “be prepared.” We are all praying and wishing hard for a big snow in February. Should our prayers and energy be powerful enough, you need to have an indoor spot for your wedding in case there is a blizzard. I know many restaurants which will let you have the ceremony in the restaurant if you’re planning to dine there afterwards. For the heartiest couples who want it outside no matter what, I know of a few outdoor spots with at least a roof. I know some tricks, as most long-timers do. Call me.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

 

Christmas Day Magic at Nevada Beach

Drought is a bad thing, except when you’re a bride in a sleeveless dress who wants to get married on the beach in Lake Tahoe Christmas Day. It is hard to believe this photo was taken Christmas Day, but it was! The lake was like glass, and the sun shone brilliantly.

My couple was a spontaneous one; they’d just moved to Tahoe two weeks before Christmas with their bird, whose name is Birdie. They had been together for eight years, and her grandmother had prayed fervently throughout 2013 that this was the year they would finally tie the knot.

They consulted a seer who told them December was a very auspicious month for them to wed. What day of the month could be more auspicious than Christmas, when the whole world is just a bit more jolly and peaceful and filled with hope and goodwill? Christmas it was, then! Birdie had a chest cold, so he could not attend. Chewbacca the wedding dog was happy to fill in for Birdie.

I love all my couples, as anyone who’s read my wedding blogs knows. I love my loud couples and my fierce couples. I love the feisty couples. There is a special place in my heart, however, for my gentle couples. This Christmas couple was the gentlest of couples; they make me hope it’s true the meek shall inherit the Earth. May it happen during their lifetime together!

Kathryn was in rare form as the wedding photographer; maybe it was the day, and maybe it was the couple. The wedding started at noon, which is the hardest time of day to shoot. People end up with Pinocchio noses from the shadows of a sun that’s directly overhead.  She wasn’t thrilled about the big Bernese Mountain Dog attending the wedding, and thought he might pose problems. He has attended so many weddings, though, so he knows to just lay at my feet and gaze up into the couple’s eyes. He was no trouble at all, and Kathryn was able to shoot some spectacular shots of a spectacular day. The wedding made our Christmas joyful!

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

 

Memories of Christmas Weddings Past

In my ten years as a wedding minister, I have performed many a Christmas wedding. As it is with all weddings, each one has been uniquely glorious. I have performed grand indoor weddings as well as memorable weddings in the freezing cold. Couples often choose Christmas weddings because Christmas is one time during the year families get time off from work in order to travel for precious family time together.

I remember one magnificent wedding I performed at the base of a thirty foot Christmas tree in the lobby of the Embassy Suites at Stateline. The white marble stairs were half-covered with a red carpet, so the bride’s descent with her father to the dazzling tree and her groom below was striking. I will never forget it; it was like a royal wedding!

I performed an outdoor Christmas wedding at Inspiration Point, right above Emerald Bay. For outdoor winter weddings, I always push hard for winter wedding fashion; I nearly always end up with a blue-mouth bride who insists on a strapless gown. I am glad I convinced that bride to dress warmly, as it was eighteen degrees outside! She wore a gorgeous red and gold bolero jacket over her long white gown, and she wore moon boots through the deep snow to hike to the wedding site. Her flower girl and ring bearer were tough little trooper children! I talked as fast as I could, and all of us pretended it was warm. There was a ton of fresh glistening snow, and the silvery sun shone brightly on the emerald waters beneath us. It was spectacular, and worth the chills. The reception was at Riva Grill, where we wined and dined enthusiastically in the warm reception room overlooking Ski Run Harbor.

Last Christmas, a couple called me in the middle of a white-out blizzard. I chose not to venture out, so they came to me. It was something of a miracle their car made it through the deep snowdrifts to my house on the edge of the forest. I performed the ceremony before a blazing fire in my fireplace. The world outside the windows was a blizzardy blur, but inside, all was warmth and love. My neighbor, Kathryn–who would later become my photographer–braved the storm to hike up to my house and serve as witness for the impromptu fireplace wedding.

I will always remember the Christmas weddings at my beautiful home in Round Hill. I had a copper fireplace–honestly, the most beautiful fireplace I’ve ever seen. One bride bought one hundred cream-colored candles; they matched the dozens of cream-colored roses everywhere. Her dress was pewter satin, and her groom wore his Marine dress blues. Candlelight was the only light; it was breathtaking!

Another couple was introduced by a psychic who lived in Australia. He urged the bride to travel to California to meet her groom, and she did. Their wedding was in my living room, beside my ten-foot Christmas tree. My dog munched on candy canes throughout the ceremony, and the photographs of heavy snow and icicles outside the candlelight and copper fireplace were spectacular.

It’s been good. Love and Christmas go well together.

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Rev.

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

Romantic Zephyr Cove Renewal

The weekend before Thanksgiving was warm and sunny. I had spoken to my bride, who planned to surprise her husband of ten years with a vow renewal. She explained that her wedding had been a whirlwind. She was painfully shy, and there had been 250 people in the audience. (This can be a crippling problem shy brides often don’t think about when they plan their splashy, dream wedding. If one of you is painfully shy, you really should consider a small ceremony. The rewards will be great.)

This particular bride suffered terribly as 250 people in the audience stared at her on her wedding day. She couldn’t even look up into her beloved’s eyes during the ceremony. She wanted to make it right, so after ten years of marriage, she got down on one knee and asked her husband if he would do it all over again. He cried and said yes.

I promised to put my heart and soul into the ceremony if she would promise to fasten her eyes on her beloved throughout the ceremony. We both kept our word, and the ceremony was intensely personal and beautiful. They have two beautiful, athletic children and three pets they left at home when they flew from Texas to celebrate the  ceremony. My bride waxed poetic about Lake Tahoe. It was their very first time at the lake.

“I didn’t even know a place this beautiful existed,” she said. “We’ve never seen such a place.”

She’d asked about renewal fashion, and I told her she might find a temperature in the forties chilly. (In Texas, coats appear when it’s in the sixties.) Boots were perfect for walking in the sand. My bride wore a beautiful coat, and my groom wore a pea coat.

Kathryn, my photographer, and I both felt celebratory after the ceremony. Sharing a glass of wine, we agreed that the ceremony had transformed the couple. There was a shift, and they walked away joyfully, and more in love than when they’d arrived. Life is good!

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

 

Surprise Proposal/Wedding the Same Day

This groom had great courage! He invited about fifteen of his best friends to the Bijou Pier in South Lake Tahoe to meet at a certain time. I met all of them and waited for a maybe-wedding. His beloved was told to come about twenty minutes later with about fifteen of her closest friends. When she arrived, the potential groom whipped out a small box and got down on one knee to propose. Happily, she said yes! She was incredibly shocked when her groom informed her that the Officiant (that would be me) was right here and ready to perform the wedding! (Here I will mention that this couple had been happily together for sixteen years.)

This could go either way, but the potential bride thought about it for a few moments and said, “What the heck? I don’t have to go through any wedding planning stress! Let’s do it!”

Her best friend whipped out a beautiful bouquet of flowers for her, and the wedding began on the pier. It was a very jolly affair; we were all laughing through the entire ceremony. I had been speaking to the groom for weeks, so I felt as if I knew them both. I’d written a poem about the two of them that made my bride cry happy tears. The word “spontaneous” was in there a few times. Spontaneous adventures were a huge part of this couple’s joy, so the wedding really was perfect.

Because a marriage license can only be obtained with both parties present, after the ceremony, all of us rode in a big caravan (honking our horns) to the Courthouse. I instructed my newlyweds not to mention that the ceremony had already happened. They were finished with that simple business quickly, their witnesses and I signed, and they were on their way to continue a joyous life filled with surprises and spontaneous adventures.

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

 

Blue Jeans & Big Dogs: Carnelian Bay Wedding

This lovely dog park is right next to Gar Woods Restaurant in Carnelian Bay. My couple was amazing; they both felt blessed beyond measure to have found each other!  It was a hundred pounds of organic meat that brought them together. My bride’s uber-large Leonberger, Jasper, is the size of a horse, and eats a lot of meat. Lucy, the smaller Leonberger, is a sweet, elderly lady.  The bride was a vegetarian when she was doing all the meat-shopping for her dogs; the groom raises organic meat.

My groom wondered aloud one day, “Who is buying all this meat?” That is how they met! Five years later, they are happy. I told Kathryn, my photographer, to be ready for a fun wedding shoot with a couple in blue jeans and a lot of dog poundage. (Jasper weighs about 250 pounds.) Somewhere in the distance of this photograph is a third dog, who may be the most hyper dog on Earth: Cricket the border collie. He raced back and forth throughout the wedding, chasing the waves.  (Kathryn wondered if he was on doggie-crack.) They are a happy group!

My groom told me he wants to return in his next life as one of his wife’s dogs; their lives are that good! Their love for each other is clearly unconditional. I loved the laid-back feel of the couple in blue jeans, playing with their dogs on the beach. My bride told me she had gone to the dog park the day before, just after a wedding. They left a ton of flowers, and she asked the wedding planner if she could have some for their wedding the next day. It felt right!

The groom’s stunning daughter served as our witness, and the bride told me that the groom’s first wife did her hair for the wedding. This is a most harmonious blended family! Tahoe did its part to make the magic, with fall colors, a sky with brilliant, sweeping clouds, and a light breeze. They brought some gorgeous, old-vintage champagne for the toasting.  It was a perfect Tahoe Autumn Day!

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

Joyous Wedding in Bodega Bay

A wedding has to be pretty special for me to leave the mountains in summer. This was the most special wedding of the year for me, and one of the great honors of my life to perform. Kelly, the groom, is the son of Bruce, the brother of my heart. His gorgeous bride, Kisa, has stood with Kelly through thick ‘n thin, sorrow and joy for the last four years. A happy and glorious day their wedding was! It was great to be at the ocean, replete with shrieking gulls and crashing surf. I may have been the only one loving the freezing fog, but I truly loved it. The cliffs and the dunes and the bride in her beautiful gown seemed so much more dramatic emerging from dense grey fog.

Everyone was so happy! I laughed and laughed as Kelly sped me dangerously in the golf cart toward the seashore wedding spot. I imagine many golf balls make their way to the beach, as the golf course reaches right up to the cliffs above the sea. On the beach, however, there is only the sea and soaring gulls.

The bride’s beautiful 8-year-old daughter, Nia, walked her mother to her groom. Both the bride and her daughter were barefoot. (Nice to have beaches without pine cone chips to hurt your feet.)  I stood there for a moment before the couple, remembering when Kelly was a tiny baby, and all the years since that have built him into the loyal, devoted, magnificent man he is today. I felt a deep pride, along with a sense of the miracle life is: We learn, we grow, and we transform. Love is the greatest part of the miracle, and the years and the moments teach us to do it better with each passing day.

It’s fun performing a wedding when you’re close to the couple. We giggled up there, and hugged, and shared wondrous tiny moments. This beautiful little family will grow in happiness and in number, and the magic of that day will never leave us.

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

 

Short-Notice Wedding on Top of Cave Rock

This is the view on the right side at the top of Cave Rock. My bride called just a few days before she wanted to get married, and she wanted her wedding to take place in the middle of the afternoon. A short-notice beach wedding was out of the question; all beach parking lots are full by noon, and the beaches are crammed with people. I live near Cave Rock, and sent her some photographs. I asked several times if everyone could walk well, and told her it was about a seven minute walk. I now understand that seven minutes for me might be twelve minutes for flatlanders, and at high altitude in the heat, even though it is not a steep climb, it could be challenging.

The walk up to Cave Rock was fine for all the twenty participants except one. They were a hale and hearty group! Their grandmother had a hard time, but thankfully, they had brought a chair for her. Every time there was a shady spot, she sat and rested.

“Lord, please don’t let her die,” I prayed. It was a hot August day. She made it to the top, thanks to her devoted family. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Several young men wore boutonnieres and light-colored shirts. The bride’s adorable niece was stunning in a red and white Princess dress. The bride’s bouquet of red and white roses was huge. She was absolutely beautiful in her strapless gown, and had brought Peds stockings and walking shoes for the walk up. This was a good thing, because the trail is very dusty. When we reached the top, everyone gasped at the beauty of sapphire blue below us.

My bride donned her white wedge shoes, which were spotless for the ceremony; with the dazzling hairpiece in her hair, her bridal fashion sense was flawless.

My couple had been high school sweethearts, and this day was their fifth anniversary of being together. They had survived the death of a close friend, they were loyal to the core, and they were devoted to the large family surrounding them on that tiny mountaintop. I felt truly honored to join such a wonderful couple. Short notice notwithstanding, it was one gorgeous wedding!

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

http://www.laketahoeminister.com