Even Rain Couldn't Tamp Down the Color at This Couple's Vibrant Wedding on the Shores of Lake Tahoe

Mackie Stille and Bobby Ward officially met in San Francisco in August of 2016, but they later found out that they grew up just half a mile apart in Davis, California. They became fast friends when a mutual friend introduced them, but by March of 2017, their relationship turned romantic. In February of 2022, Bobby planned a heartfelt proposal at one of the couple’s favorite places: Lake Tahoe. While walking along the lakeshore, Bobby got down on one knee to ask Mackie to marry him. The moment became even more memorable when friends and family jumped out to surprise them in celebration.

The couple tied the knot on August 19, 2023, at a private lakefront estate in Tahoma, California. They welcomed 230 guests to celebrate in a setting they had always envisioned, both individual and as a couple. As it turned out, each grew up dreaming of a wedding in Lake Tahoe, which was a meaningful locale for both families over the years. “The private estate allowed us to have the ceremony close to the water while also allowing plenty of room for all our friends and family,” Mackie says.

Mackie and Bobby teamed up with Elise Events to bring their vision of a fun and playful celebration to life. “I wanted lots of color and vibrancy throughout the day!” Mackie explains. Though the weather didn't quite cooperate on the big day, the couple hosting a stunning, boldly colorful celebration packed with personal elements. From a roaming lakefront aisle to a guest appearance by the couple's dog, Waffles, read on to see every thoughtful detail come together in images by Will Reid Photo.

The Idea Emporium created all of the branding for the couple's wedding weekend, starting with the invitation suite. “The lupine flower was used throughout the design and a textural overlay of a topographical map of the lake,” Mackie explains. The entire suite was packed in a blue grasscloth envelope, hinting at the color palette to come on the big day.

To kick off a weekend of celebrations, Mackie and Bobby invited their family members to join them on the Thursday before the wedding for a rehearsal dinner at the venue. “It was the first time a lot of our family members got to meet each other and it was so special to have unrushed time with each of them,” the bride recalls.

Mackie wore an Agua Bendita top and skirt, while Bobby wore tan dress pants with a white button down shirt and brown leather dress shoes.

Guests were seated at a mix of long tables and small high top tables paired with wooden chairs or stools. Surrounded by mature trees, attendees were immersed in the natural environment of Lake Tahoe and enjoyed both mountain and lakefront views throughout the evening.

The centerpieces consisted of white flowers like dahlias, roses, and scabiosa and greenery displayed in wooden vessels. A few small pops of blue added even more dimension to the florals. The place settings featured checkered linen napkins and custom green menus with slit details and the couple’s monogram.

A wooden bar was brought into the space with darker wooden shelving to hold glasses and display more white floral arrangements. Guests enjoyed cocktails and an intimate lakeside dinner. “We had an Italian themed meal which was amazing!” Mackie says.

The couple’s dog, Waffles, joined them at the rehearsal dinner, too. He’s family, after all!

Mackie and Bobby stepped away from their guests during golden hour to take portraits on the dock. Since Lake Tahoe is so meaningful to them both, it felt fitting to embrace the natural landscape and use it as a backdrop for their celebration and photos.

The rehearsal dinner concluded with a variety of mini desserts, which were displayed on a wooden table decorated with flower arrangements. 

Mackie admits that her wedding-dress shopping experience wasn't as easy as she had hoped, and after months of searching for the perfect gown, she began to feel discouraged. Then, she stepped into Unveiled Bridal in San Francisco, a BRIDES Top Tier bridal salon, where she says she bonded with the owners and knew she was finally in good hands.

There, she was drawn towards a silk organza A-line wedding dress with a delicate floral print and lace details by J. Andreatta. “I fell in love with the fabric,” she says. “Bonus that it was light and easy to dance in!” Mackie accessorized with her late mother-in-law’s earrings and a bracelet her dad gave her mom when she was born. 

Nailing her beauty look was key. Mackie really wanted an elevated take on her go-to hair and makeup, and her hair and makeup team delivered with bright, dewy skin and soft waves that were pinned back slightly just around her face.

Mackie had a first look with her bridesmaids before seeing Bobby for the first time. The couple referred to their wedding party as their “Tahoe Blue Crew" since bridesmaids and groomsmen wore Mackie and Bobby's wedding color palette; the ladies donned gowns in various vibrant shades and the men in blue suits with colorful ties.

It was important to Mackie and Bobby that they get to spend as much time as possible together on the wedding day, so a pre-ceremony first look was a no-brainer. “It was very special to finally get to see each other in our favorite place,” Mackie remembers. “We were both jittery and a bit anxious but both felt so calm once we had our first look.”

Bobby wore a custom suit from Tailors’ Keep on the wedding day. Mackie’s bouquet featured playful polka dahlias, sweet phlox for added movement, and buddleia for earthy texture.

Their beloved golden retriever wore a custom blue bandana featuring their signature lupine bloom motif and a laser engraved leather tab with their custom monogram. 

As guests arrived at the ceremony site, they were greeted with refreshing flavored water. Then, they were invited to walk down to the ceremony space, which was set up on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Cane-back chairs were placed around a winding aisle in the sand.

"With our love for the lake, a lakefront wedding on the beach was really important to us," Mackie says. As the began to decide what their waterfront ceremony would look like, the idea of that gently curving aisle came to life. And to ensure it stood out against the neutral sand, the entire aisle was decorated with lush, colorful floral arrangements, including hundreds of stems of local dahlias. “We aimed to create colorful vibrant florals to contrast Tahoe's blue water,” says the couple’s florist, Natasha from Golden Fields Floristry. “Aisle arrangement gardens were placed organically to emphasize the meandering nature of the pathway to the altar.”

When the couple and their team decided on the ceremony décor, they had no way of knowing that Mackie and Bobby would wed under an overcast, rainy sky, but the arrangements they selected brought life and vibrancy to the celebration despite the weather.

Each chair had a ribbon wand with silk strands and brass bells, which guests were asked to wave during the recessional.

Mackie walked down the aisle with her dad by her side as a live musician performed. "It was pouring rain," the bride notes, "so a bit different than we imagined but it was perfect and serene." Guests were given clear umbrellas to shield them as drops fell.

The couple wrote their vows earlier that day while sitting at the same table. “We’d both have moments where we’d see the other one laughing or crying and it made the build up to hearing them that much more exciting,” Mackie says. The couple had gone back and forth about exchanging private vows in front of their guests. “The fact that it was raining during the ceremony made it seem like we were just saying them to each other under our umbrella which meant we got the best of both worlds!” the bride remembers. “The day after our wedding when we were cleaning up we noticed the rain had left a heart shape on Bobby’s vow book pages.”

After the ceremony, the couple recessed back up the aisle while guests waved their ribbon wands.

With their clear umbrellas in hand, guests made their way back up to the estate's yard for cocktail hour, where even a little weather wasn't going to bring down the mood. Everyone played played cornhole and found custom domino sets as a nod to Mackie and Bobby’s favorite game. A wooden memorial table was decorated with vibrant florals and framed photos in memory of Bobby’s late mom.

In keeping with the rest of the wedding's branding, The Idea Emporium created the couple's custom escort cards, which were printed with lupine imagery and displayed on tiered shelves.

Bobby’s best friend owns a distillery and created special cocktails for the couple, including cucumber gimlets, a blackberry bourbon drink, and strawberry margaritas to honor Bobby’s mom. The bar signage incorporated both the couple’s initial monogram and the signature lupine bloom motif.

The couple wanted their reception to feature plenty of natural elements and textures, including oak wood, and vibrant local blooms, such as polka and peaches n cream dahlias, sweet cherry caramel phlox, and chocolate cosmos, for added depth. “We loaded the tables with soft taupe pillar candles varying in heights and texture, which complimented the colorful florals and indigo blue and citrus orange heath ceramics dinnerware,” Mackie says.

"We curated a very special collection of unique textured candles in soft neutral tones to complement the colorful centerpieces," the couple's planner notes. "Pops of blue votives tied back to their vivid stoneware plates and completed the reds and oranges in the flowers."

As a perfectly cohesive finishing touch, place cards and table numbers were made from the same blue grasscloth wraps seen in the couple’s invitation suite.

For dinner, the couple served a wide variety of options, all of which they intentionally selected to ensure there was something for everyone. They opted for a family-style dinner service, which was no small feat for 230 guests, but it was important to Mackie and Bobby that guests felt thought of and had an opportunity to bond over the meal.

Mackie and Bobby shared their first dance to “Stand By Me” before hitting the dance floor with their guests. They had a live band for their reception and planned a fun after-party with a carnival theme, complete with a velcro wall, silent disco, skee ball, and mini putt putt course.

After their big day, Mackie and Bobbie spent their honeymoon in Switzerland and Lake Como. To couples currently planning a wedding, Mackie has this advice: “There’s no way to make everything go perfectly, so pick the top five things you care most about and spend your time and energy into those areas.”