Erin and Mike met while living in San Francisco when both swiped right on the dating app Bumble. A year later, the couple ventured south to Ventura for a beach holiday.

“We had just gone surfing, and when we got back to the deck, Mike popped the question in our wetsuits overlooking the ocean,” remembers Erin. “My friend was ready and armed with a camera to catch the whole thing.”

The couple decided on a “very DIY wedding.” “Neither of us are very traditional, and we didn’t want to spend a ton of money, so it was all pretty simple,” shares the bride. We knew we wanted a small, intimate wedding with a beautiful landscape and partially outdoors. I think we knew right away that Tahoe would be the perfect place.”

From a May engagement to an October wedding, the planning period was short. They were able to do most of the work themselves with some help from friends. “The best part was touring and picking out the venue and tasting cake,” says Erin.

The ceremony was held right on the beach. “We had our dog Henry stand with us, which was very cute,” says Erin. “Our wedding was the weekend following the Santa Rosa fires and we were worried Lake Tahoe would be covered in smoke, but the day of our wedding we had gorgeous blue skies and crisp mountain air.”

The intimate party moved on to the reception at Riva Grill. “There were big windows overlooking the lake and the inside had a kind of woodsy/cabin vibe with big exposed wood beams,” describes Erin. “We kept the wedding décor to a minimum and just added candles and flowers to the tables.”

After the first dance, they got the party started. “We had an absolute blast celebrating with our friends and family,” she says. “Having a fun party was important to us and we succeeded in that!” 

—Darren Elms