Bucks Lake Ca, Wedding photographer: Raye+Colt Piccinini

Wedding

Aug 30

Raye + Colt

This love story starts from an overheard conversation between sisters. Colt’s dad was working out at his gym when he overheard Raye and her sister Sami as they were working out and talking politics. When Colt’s dad overheard Raye, he knew he needed to tell his son right away. Colt’s dad recognized right away how great Raye would be for a son and once he got home he told Colt about this girl. Soon thereafter Colt found Raye on Instagram and sent her a message. After a bit of back-and-forth to match schedules, the two finally went out on the first date. They shared the evening chatting over dinner and then had a little adventure around Lake Tahoe.

From that night these two have become inseparable. They have a mutual love for adventure and both of them expressed that the other is their favorite person to explore with. Colt and Raye have had many adventures some on their own and some with their family. Some of their great adventures were when they traveled the west coast visiting lighthouses. They started in Washington and worked their way down to central California. On their second lighthouse adventure, they picked up the route where they had left off and they started at Point Arena Lighthouse and they worked the way south. When they hit San Francisco Covid-19 had canceled some of their plans so they had to adjust their timeline by a day. The couple made their way to Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Colt had been doing some studying to find the most beautiful lighthouse of their trip to be the setting for his proposal. When they pulled into the parking lot Raye Says “This is the ugliest lighthouse we have seen on our whole trip.” As if Colt’s nerves weren’t already high. They just peaked… As they walked the boardwalk they recognize the backside wasn’t so grand but when they made it to the front it was actually quite perfect. Colt set up his phone on the tripod as he had done many times before, but this time he got down on one knee and asked Raye to be his wife. (Yes, He got the shot!) Raye was so surprised and said yes!

When looking for a wedding photographer Raye found us online and we were a bit of a blind date. It was a little bit different never meeting them in person. They were planning their California wedding from Tennessee. The wedding was held at Buck’s lake California so we decided camping would be the best lodging for us. As it turned out that our campsite would be right across from Colt and Raye’s family. We had met Colt’s mom at the ceremony location (The family’s cabin) when we stopped by to see the lighting and get ourselves familiar with the area. When she got to the campground she made sure to extend an invitation to us for dinner through Sami, Raye’s sister. We were pleased when we were greeted by the whole family with a warm welcome on Friday evening. So far this is the best “blind date” we’ve had. Jena and I officially met Kolton and Ray for the first time and it only made us more excited for the following day! We made small talk with the family learning about a family tradition where Raye’s mom (Billie) ties on permanent anklets to commemorate important trips and occasions. Colt and Raye’s Wedding anklet would be yellow. After gratefully filling our bellies and meeting the family Jena and I returned to our campsite. We played a few games of dice before making our way to bed. We made our decision to retire early due to a bear that had moseyed back behind our site roughly 50 feet away from us. During the night the bear returned twice to attempt to steal our food from the ice chest. (Safe to say Jena and I had a restless night) when we woke up we found the ice chest on its side unopened with big Bear claw marks in the dirt next to it.

Across the camp, the Bride and her girls were all doing yoga to start off their day. Props to them because it was COLD. (I failed to mention earlier that the temperature dropped down to the 30’s… ) While the bride and her bridesmaids went into the tree pose, Jena and I were huddled up around my camp stove before making the decision to go into town to get thicker sleeping bags. (We were not prepared for this brisk morning in late July.) On the drive, we appreciated the forest and all of the beautiful light coming into the many mini meadows. When we arrived back at the campsite we had 45 minutes to get ready before the work day started.

Jena and I made our way to the cabin where Raye was getting ready. She was mostly ready when we arrived with her hair and make-up done by her sister Sami. She was so chill that they nicknamed her bride-chilla. The girls all enjoyed some pizza and just relaxed together. (Just as wedding days should be) Jena and I started our morning capturing Raye’s details with a sixpence in each shoe representing her parents. Each coin was made in their birth years. A new teardrop ring Colt had gifted Raye. She also carried a pendant of her grandmother that had a blue bead concluding the tradition. Raye’s gown was unlike any we’ve seen before it had many layers that rippled at different lengths. When Raye stepped into her dress it was perfectly clear this dress was made for her. Matching her natural beauty this dress amplified her radiance.

We shot a few bridesmaid photos before going to the ceremony and I loved that Raye included her mother-in-law and her mom in these. All of the bridal party was made up of Colt and Raye’s siblings. They are all pretty tight-knit and it was awesome to have family be such an influence. (If you can’t tell we adore this entire family) By this time Jena had gone over to Colt where he was ready on arrival. He was calm, not an anxious nerve to be seen. Jena snapped a few photos of the guys and of course Colt with his parents. Raye gifted Colt a pocket knife which he kept with him all day. Soon the shuttle with guests started arriving at the ceremony site. Where there were refreshments provided as they waited for the ceremony to commence. Raye and the bridesmaids made their way to the dock. Where we all climbed aboard her aunt’s sailboat. This was my first time ever on a sailboat and I was not disappointed. I was taught how to read the wind on the water and what that meant for sailors. This ride made for many beautiful images. It was so fun learning and experiencing something new. It was also neat to see how second nature the activity was for Raye and her family. As we made our way, Raye caught the attention of the entire lake. With booming horns, and congratulatory whoops and hollers this bride made an epic entrance. Seeing the sailboat Colt tucked himself away in his family’s cabin. The guests and the family watched the bride sailing in. When she arrived the officiant asked all the guests to find their seats. Once on land, the bride went up into a separate part of the cabin to wait for the ceremony to start. The ceremony started by honoring the grandparents of the couple as they made their way down the aisle. They were followed by Colt’s dad escorting Raye’s stepmom. Followed by Raye’s mom and stepdad. Then Colt and his mom made their way down the aisle with a quick squeeze and a peck. The bridal party made their way gracefully down the aisle and behind them came the couple’s dogs poppy and grizzly accompanied by three adorable young ladies. Then Raye and her dad made their entrance, they glowed in the sunlight and walked eloquently down the aisle. Colt stood there looking at his bride swaying a little and fidgeting, but so abundantly happy. The ceremony was beautiful with the lake as a backdrop and being among the trees, everything felt right. Mike the officiant did an amazing job speaking while simultaneously signing during the ceremony. The couple exchanged their heartfelt vows both humbled and excited for the adventures they will face together. Soon the couple would share their first kiss and they had an encore for their friends and family to capture. After the ceremony, we snapped a picture of the couple and their guests. The shuttles arrived to start taking the guest back to the reception. We took this time to do family photos and the bridal party photos.

After all the formal photos were done I rode back with the bridal party on the couple’s boat. Colt and Raye are such sweet people and they were surrounded all day by other like-hearted individuals. The reception was hosted at the Lakeshore resort. The Bucks Lake community is very kind and neighborly, they all take care of their own and this was seen throughout the day. From the care and hospitality of the shuttle drivers and the staff at the resort, this wedding went off without any issue. The couple was soon introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Piccinini they came in with a classic entrance with Colt showing off his bride with a twirl.

After a welcome toast, the tables were excused for dinner, on their way they could stop for a quick picture and a hug with the bride and groom (this was such a great idea.) After everyone got their plates then the bride and groom grabbed theirs and sat down for dinner. Dinner was delicious! Once all we’re done the couple cut the cake for dessert. Raye and colt cut their cake with Raye’s saber from the US Coast Guard. (Oh yeah, our bride is an officer in the US Coast Guard talk about impressive.) Raye’s aunt made all of the delicious cakes with a wide variety of flavors. Following the cake cutting were the toasts. Colt and Raye kicked it off by opening their bottle of champagne with her saber. This was such a fun idea! Leading the toasts was the best man, Colt’s brother. He had been planning and practicing his speech “a lot” and he nailed it! His speech left me with a quote “They say to find whatever sets your soul on fire. You two are an inferno.” It was a brilliant statement that seemed to ring true for the couple. Up next was Sami who delivered a beautiful toast bringing tears to many with her heartfelt sentiments of Raye always being her best friend and how happy she is that Raye and Colt have each other. Raye’s stepdad followed by reminiscing about when Colt came into Raye’s life and how his big heart brought home a puppy and his love for vehicles brought home a lot of projects. All the while sharing his heart and time with Raye building a lot of memories. Then it was Todd, Colt’s dad’s turn. The man who made this match. He shared the story about the gym previously mentioned. He also shared a golden nugget that “Love is like a rock crawler.” He said something along the lines of; You go out and take it on a rough trail and it may break, but it’s worth fixing. You may leave it in the garage and it’s running fine but you could always put some time and work into it to make it better. Love takes work but, Love will take you to new and exciting places. He said it so much better, but the sentiment stuck with me, and I love the truth behind the metaphor. After Todd’s toast, the couple invited their parents up for a toast of their own. To thank them and all the family and friends for all their hard work, support, and making the trips to be there on their wedding day. But, the couple had a few surprises for their guests. Their first surprise was that they had been married already for two years. Due to Covid and all its chaos they wanted to secure their future together. Finally, the second surprise was that Colt and Raye are pregnant and were a few months along. The family was ECSTATIC. Raye’s mom jumped for joy and cried in her daughter’s embrace. Colt’s mom standing next to him hugged him and rested her head on his. The rest of the guests buzzed with happiness. After the celebration of the news, the couple shared their first dance. Choreographed to perfection the two floated on the dance floor. Raye being a dancer sure taught her groom a few new moves. Raye was briefly joined by her mom on the dance floor sharing a fun dance that gave the ladies a special moment to remember. Raye danced with her dad who would keep her close and then spin her out. It was perfection. Colt would then bring his mom out to the dance floor. They started out with a fun little jig and then slowed it down a bit for a heart-to-heart moment that many teared up too. The evening continued with Raye’s grandfather dancing his socks off and all the guests joining in. This wedding was a destination wedding for most and every last guest seemed to make the best of their time. It was such a pleasure working with so many AMAZING people.

Colt and Raye, we are so grateful you found and chose us to be a part of such a magical day. We appreciate the kindness and love we were treated to. We hope that you enjoy reliving your wedding day through our lens.

Cheers to many years of adventure and happiness.