June Wedding in Tahoe Paradise

The wedding was June 10th. I was nervous, because we’d experienced the Mother of all Winters, and it seemed as if it was a winter that was eternal. The day before the wedding, it rained a slushy snow, and the high was only 40-ish. The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were held at the groom’s mother’s house. (I’ve known her for decades.) It was cold, but what a joyful gathering it was! Everyone brought their dogs, including me. My Chewbacca loves parties! Babies and dogs and happy people played everywhere in the freezing cold. We rehearsed and played with the dogs outside.

The wedding’s morning broke in splendid bluebird beauty. It was chilly, but there was not a cloud in the sky. The wedding was held in Tahoe Paradise Park, which was breathtakingly beautiful. The big winter had blessed us with big, fast water and emerald green grass. I’d known the groom since he was born, so it was a great day for me. (I got to tell him so in my ceremony.) I have been performing weddings for almost 14 years, but I have never seen a groom who beamed as happily as this groom beamed. He has known his bride since they were children; their love is infectious!  My happiness at his joy was unbounded.  The bride was absolutely gorgeous in her fitted gown. I loved their colors, which were turquoise and orange. The tiny children in the wedding were precious. The lovely flower girl pulled a wagon with a tiny ringbearer.

The best part of my job is the JOY. When I am honored to perform a wedding for the children of old friends, it is a rush–a high–that is unparalleled for me. The Circle of Love is the miracle of Life, and performing weddings for the children of people I have loved for decades is all a part of that circle. The best part of life is the loving: the love we give, and the love we feel.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

reverendcamille@aol.com

Happy Ending: Cave Rock Beach Wedding

One of the reasons I love performing weddings is the people I get to know and love. I love their stories. An Autumn wedding is always special in Lake Tahoe, because the season and the colors are so spectacular. The lake is quiet without the summer zephyrs and hoards of tourists. The wedding I performed in late October at Cave Rock Beach was beautiful for many other reasons.

My bride was a young widow. Her first husband had suffered a constant, debilitating depression before finally taking his own life. In a situation like that, it is hard not to believe in one’s own culpability. Knowing her a little, I feel she was blameless.  She avoided relationships because she did not want to suffer, or cause someone else to suffer.

However, life is miraculous; a pesky friend urged her to get online and answer the many questions demanded by e-harmony in order to jump start a return to life and love. My bride eventually caved and spent the hours necessary to honestly answer all of e-harmony’s many questions. The man who emerged almost immediately was a jolly, gentle man who would soon be joined at the hip with her!

Everyone who know this couple is ecstatic for them. Their happiness is abundant, overflowing and infectious. He adores his beautiful bride, and she adores him. The grin she wore on her wedding day dazzled in the glorious autumn sunlight. There had been a fierce storm for two days before the wedding, and everyone had worried except me: I knew the sun would shine on their day! The storm left just the perfect amount of snow on the mountains across the lake. Cave Rock Beach is powerfully sacred, sitting just below Cave Rock with a panoramic view of the entire lake from the “wedding point” jutting out above the water. The Washoe Indians consider Cave Rock to be the most sacred site on Lake Tahoe–and you can feel it–so I always honor them with a Native American Wedding Blessing.

I was given an extra bonus on that wondrous day when I stopped in at the couple’s reception. I was greeted by TWO other couples whose marriages I had performed. I got a little teary with gratitude. We hugged a giant group hug, and I felt as blessed as it is possible to feel.

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille,

ReverendCamille@aol.com

August Extravaganza at Kiva Beach

What a great and glorious affair this was! I want to tell everyone about it. Many people ask me about inexpensive venues for weddings and receptions, and this was the ultimate. I have performed many weddings at Kiva Beach; generally, the weddings have been tiny affairs. Couples love Kiva Beach because their beloved pets can attend the dog-friendly beach ceremony. In Autumn, the golden aspens make for a splendorous backdrop.

I worked with this couple extensively to see if it was possible for them to hold the reception after the wedding on Kiva Beach. I discovered the rules: You may not hire any commercial party rental company to deliver supplies to Kiva Beach. Any tables, chairs, tents, arches, or other party furniture and supplies must be trucked in by the couple themselves.  That’s a hassle, to be sure, but this couple had about 75 guests, and they saved a bundle on the venue. Kiva Beach does not require a permit of any kind for weddings. That means the venue was free!

When my photographer Bill and I arrived at Kiva Beach, we were amazed. There were 75 chairs arranged at the ceremony site, and there were many tablecloth-clad tables on the other side of the ceremony site. There was a tent over a beautiful spread of food and beverages. My creative and hard-working bride had made the most beautiful centerpieces for all the tables. She and her groom love the ocean, so sand-filled vases with shells and flowers decorated each table, along with beautiful “sailboats” consisting of wood and lace. The effect was stunning!

The couple’s beloved “Bolt” (a Chargers fan) chihuahua mix was dressed in his tuxedo when we arrived. This couple met each other in high school ten years ago, and they are the luckiest couple on Earth to have met each other so young. They know how lucky they are! When the bride read her lengthy vows to her beaming groom, there was not a dry eye on the beach, including mine. They will be together and happy forever, and I was honored to be their officiant.

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

reverendcamille@aol.com

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Skylandia Summer Wedding

Skylandia is owned by the Tahoe City Public Utility District. You go directly to them to reserve this gorgeous wedding site in a forest clearing above Lake Tahoe. Skylandia is off Lake Forest Road outside Tahoe City on Highway 28.

My couple made a giant heart with pine cones in the center of the site. The beautiful ceremony took place inside the pine cone heart. The bride was raised Catholic, and the groom was raised Jewish, so I said a Christian prayer and the groom broke the glass in Jewish wedding tradition at the end of the ceremony. There was a Buddhist couple in the audience; he was the brother of the bride, and she was his Balinese Buddhist wife. This is why I am a Universal Life minister. “We are all one” is their motto, and I love that!

The bride’s wedding gown was very simple, and she wore white wedding flip-flops. Her wedding fashion was very toned down, so the splashy bouquet I made for her with Asian Lillies and Alstromeria really made a nice pop.  The groom was dressed very casually in a Tommy Bahama shirt and khaki pants; they looked like no other couple, and they were stunning!

I was amazed when I first met this couple, months before the wedding. They were among the most harmonious of  couples I had ever met. They just melded and blended perfectly. It felt wonderful to be in their presence. When you stand between two people who love each other that much, your heart and soul glow. It was an incredible honor to perform that ceremony! A great bonus for me was getting a chance to talk to their families before the ceremony; two families filled with such gracious people had everything to do with why my couple was so fabulous. I have the best job, and life is good.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

reverendcamille@aol.com

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Wedding at Eagle Point Above Emerald Bay

Anything can happen to an April wedding at Lake Tahoe! My bride and I were nervous, because snow was predicted at first for the wedding date. This was happening in a year that saw zero snowfall in January, February, or March! Snow did not fall abundantly until after Heavenly Ski Resort closed for the season April 19th. The day before the wedding, Tahoe received a long-awaited dumping of lovely white stuff. At this point, every snowflake and drop of rain is appreciated, but brides want to wear strapless gowns. She and I sweated as the wedding date approached, and wrote each other daily emails with the newest weather updates. The day arrived dressed in sunshine, and my bride wore a strapless gown with layers of petal flounces. Her fashion sense was perfect for a Spring wedding: she looked like an exotic Spring flower.

Hundreds of couples want to get married at Emerald Bay, but if the weather is good, the lines are daunting. There is no parking at Inspiration Point, and you have to jump through hoops to have your wedding there. I told my couple I knew a place with an Emerald Bay view and no crowds and plenty of parking. Eagle Point is a fifteen minute hike, but they are both marathon runners. They said “let’s do it!” This is the view, and you can see how the weather smiled on us for the ceremony. The site above Emerald Bay was a character in this beautiful wedding: A gorgeous guest of honor.

My couple had known each other for nine years, but started as friends. That is the best way to start! They’d been a couple for seven years, and my bride had joined in the cheering and coaching of her fiance’s two kids during those seven years. The couple and the kids now run half-marathons together. Disneyland, beaches, and half-marathons keep this couple happy and busy.  He is an avid horse race enthusiast, and that is an exciting addition to their already-adventurous life.  Their life is fun and giving and lovingly beautiful. This minister teared up, watching them recite their vows to each other. They will be happy forever, for sure.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille,

reverendcamille@aol.com

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Wine Box Wedding in Carnelian Bay

This couple called me a year ahead of time to reserve my services for my birthday. They felt it was auspicious to have a minister celebrating her birthday on their wedding day. They were sweet and beautiful when we met. They’d been together about five years, and loved doing everything together. Their relationship was easy!

We met in July at Carnelian Bay, where the wedding was to be held in October. They told me they wanted to celebrate the wine box ceremony at the wedding. It’s a great ceremony! At the wedding, a wooden box sits on a table. The box contains a bottle of wine, two glasses, and two letters. The bride has written a letter to her groom; he has no idea what the letter says. She tells him in the letter why she fell in love with him, and why they are getting married on this wonderful day. The groom has written a similar letter to his bride, and she has no idea what’s in the letter. He tells her why he fell in love with her, and why he wanted to marry her on this glorious day. The wooden box will be sealed shut until their fifth anniversary, unless they run into a serious rough patch before then. If they are fighting, or a terrible circumstance threatens to shake the foundations of their love, they may open the box and be reminded why they fell in love and married. It is a beautiful time capsule telling the story of their love for each other.

I said, “you may now seal the box.” The couple got out their hammer and nails and sealed it shut. I feel great about this couple, and don’t expect them to need a box opening before their fifth wedding anniversary. What a fun day that will be!

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

reverendcamille@aol.com

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Labor Day Weekend: A Lake Forest Beach Wedding

My bride is from Russia, and her beloved is from Belarus. His parents flew all the way from Belarus for the Lake Tahoe wedding. This lovely couple has a beautiful eight month old daughter who grinned throughout the ceremony. Lake Forest Beach is a gem of a beach that not many world travelers to Lake Tahoe know about. It is a magical place!

This was one summer online daters chose to marry. I would say that in the summer of 2014, 90% of my bridal couples first met online. For those who wish to know, match.com was the dating service most of them used. My couple who met in Sweden met online through match.com.  This Russian-Belarus couple did not specify which online dating service they used, but they did say that when they met in person, the electrical connection between them was immediate. They both knew, and I hear that with most of my couples: Most of my couples knew immediately that “this was the one.” I’m just sayin’ modern life can be miraculous……

When I asked my bride what she loved most about her beloved, she said, “when he enters a room, he commands it. Everybody loves him!” My photographer Kathryn and I experienced the joyous dynamism of this wonderful man the moment he burst onto the beach. His face was like the sun that lit up the sky.  His bride is quiet and sweet, and serves as soft shade to her husband’s explosive exuberance. It was my groom who cried throughout the ceremony. He cries with the same gusto with which he shouts and laughs. His bride smiles and giggles; they are adorable!

Kathryn captured this amazing, mystical moment on film during this early Sunday morning wedding. We love morning weddings: A new day, a new life, a new marriage! We know this couple will be happy forever. We just know!

Just an aside: After the ceremony, the gorgeous baby girl was getting a little restive. What did we do? We brought out Chewbacca!!!!!  My wedding dog saved the day, and the baby girl and pretty tuxedo’d dog made some mighty great photos. God Bless the Dog!!!!

Happiness to all!

Pamela Camille, Reverend

reverendcamille@aol.com

 

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A Gorgeous Wedding at the Tahoe Tree Company

The Tahoe Tree Company is the most magical nursery with a secret garden for weddings behind it. Everything was wildly colorful and riotously blooming as I approached the nursery. The gift shop is definitely a place to linger, but I went upstairs to hug my bride as she dressed. Her fashion was perfectly in line with her loveliness. She was very 19th Century (a la Jane Austen) in her lace bolero jacket over a simple satin column. Even her name was perfect for the 19th century look.  All brides are beautiful, but she owned her dark, lustrous beauty entirely. I loved the two falling curls on either side of her face.

I went outside and entered a wondrous garden. There’s a stream filled with fountains and a pretty bridge crossing it. There’s a gazebo with flowers and hanging greens all around it. There’s a perfect grove of lush aspen trees where the bride would walk to approach the aisle. As it turned out, her groom walked her down the aisle. It was perfect. They are incredibly handsome people; this mom is very happy they plan to have children. They will be beautiful children!

The family gathered all around; this family was a blending of many halves. I appreciated that just for this day, all drama was put aside so the bride could enjoy her special day. The couple had come all the way from New Jersey to this spot in Lake Tahoe, and had planned the entire wedding from afar. In Lake Tahoe, that can work beautifully, because we in the wedding business have seen and done it all. We can put on whatever kind of wedding our brides desire.

I believe in this couple. They are two of the sweetest people on Earth, and their tenderness toward each other was inspiring. They will be happy. I know it.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

http://www.laketahoeminister.com

Sand Ceremonies Make Weddings Wonderful

When a couple has children, I love to include a sand ceremony as part of the wedding. Children love to pour the sand, and they love the finished product, which is always a colorful, artistic design. I also do the sand ceremony for couples without children; I remember one great artist-bride poured shimmering gold sand, while her husband poured a cream-colored sand. The bride poured it in such a way, the design was amazing. She was a pro! The designs always turn out beautifully, though, even with two year-olds pouring.

The couple that goes with this sand painting met each other twelve years ago; they had five small children and full custody between them. Their blended family’s original five are now all teenagers. My couple made two more little girls who are now ages two and four. The seven children and their mom and dad make a perfect baseball team of nine! My bride loved the idea of each of the seven children pouring sand into the large vase. The bride and groom then added their sand.

As the sand is poured into the large vessel, I remind them that “once the colors of the sand mingle, they can never be separated. You are bound to each other forever.” We celebrated the beauty of this blended family, as I called each of the children by name to come and pour. If you fill the sand to the brim and cork it, the design will remain that way forever as a great memento for a meaningful, beautiful wedding.

The day on Zephyr Cove Beach was breathtakingly beautiful.  After four days of much-needed rain, the sun exploded in the sky, with warmth and dazzling beauty. It was the perfect wedding day for a crowd that had journeyed over the mountains through a blizzard. After twelve years raising a family together, this couple is destined for great joy.

Happiness to all!

Reverend Pamela Camille

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