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Lake Tahoe Wedding Photographers

@theholtes

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SHELBY + COLLIN HOLTE
Co-creating your heirloom imagery without AI.
Digital, 35mm film, & super 8 🎞️
1 John 4:19

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I think Alaska reminds us that we used to be more than tech and tourism. It calls you back to the before— to living off the land and to a lifestyle where grit isn’t optional.

Alaska will swallow your pride for you. It’s tougher than you and will endure longer than you. In exchange for your pride she’ll reward you with abundance.

More light than you can stay awake for.
More fish than you could ever eat.
More peaks than you could ever climb.

Alaska just IS more, so it’s only right than when the locals get married, they DO a little more.

What you don’t know about this day is that a couple hours after this adventure, Kacy and Grant had themselves a full sized wedding in their backyard. The day was jam packed with testimonies of these two having some of the biggest hearts anyone present had ever encountered.

These two take care of people. They ask questions and they REALLY listen when you answer. There is no surface level with them— only real. It’s the kind of company that heals you.

They spent their rehearsal dinner and morning after brunch actively and joyfully taking care of people. I’m insanely glad they took this time alone on the morning of their wedding to just… be.

“Alone” might be the understatement of the century there. Four total people in 700 square miles is about as alone as it gets.

Maybe you’re reading this and you’re torn between the big wedding and the elopement. You CAN have both.

You can exchange private vows standing on 4,000 feet of ancient ice.

AND

You can cruise home and say I do with everyone you love.

In fact, we think you should. taken in Kenai Fjords National Park by @theholtes

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2 months ago

The calendar may say December but in our hearts it’s gonna be November 14th for a while.

The following is a story of the highest amount of trust any man has ever had to place in us for a proposal.

I suppose any time you hiring us there’s an element of trust that we’ll be where we say we’re gonna be at the right time— but add in the level of secrecy surrounding a proposal, both parties driving multiple hours to get to this beach, a weather reschedule causing us to send it a day early, and both parties losing cell service for two hours before the big moment??

That’s a new level.

We met Paige and Christian while photographing their best friends’ wedding a couple years ago. Paige knows her way around a camera (understatement of the year) and was designated the super 8 guru for the day. I’ll never forget the way she made me feel as an artist that day. She asked about our approach, asked how we decide on our coloring, and took time out of cocktail hour to get to know us. Asking questions is one thing, but Paige met us with her full attention and authentic curiosity. She really listened.

The nanosecond I saw Christian’s name in our inbox I knew we were about to tap into something great. And then I started reading the paragraphs he wrote…

With all the kindness in the world I have to tell you that most dudes in this position want a price and a plan. (Totally normal and we love them for it)

Christian was acutely aware of the fact that photographers at proposals are often the only witnesses to the milestone. He made it known that it mattered to them who they shared this moment with, not purely the image results.

If you haven’t met Christian and Paige yet, they’re both highly creative people. The combination of this soul connection and the knowledge that they could both run laps around us in a studio was the ultimate call to be vigilantly creative.

So when we had to let go of our text check ins and final plan adjustments because there was no cell service, I knew the pieces were already in place for trust to yield beauty because it already had.

A little salt water between the toes, a little salt water from the eyes, and everything has changed. taken in Monterey, California by @theholtes

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10 months ago

A day like 10.3.26 simply has to be processed the slow way— one element at a time. To try to absorb all the beauty of this high sierra wedding day at once would surely blow a fuse in the brain and we can’t have that.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you one of the most attentive and caring girl gangs we’ve ever had the privilege of documenting:

A moment for Iris and her girls. taken in Sierra Nevada Mountains by @theholtes

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3 days ago

I say this to enough of you guys on the side that it’s time for a post:

I don’t worry about bad weather. The good Lord ALWAYS bails us out of unworkable weather. It’s truly one of the intimate ways I experience the “and surely I am with you always” promise.

We’ve seen sideways hail give way to glowy sun minutes before a proposal. We’ve seen catastrophic wind open up to a mind blowing sunset. MANY times we’ve watched 100° heat drop to 80° out of nowhere.

Listen, I have a lot of areas in life to work on trust, but this isn’t one of them. We have seen SO MANY unpredictable weather miracles that I know if it doesn’t change in our favor it’s for a reason. My hope in writing this out is to offer you this peace too.

In seven years, there is exactly one single time he didn’t shift an entire weather system in our favor and these are images from that day. We were in New England and had exactly one day open to do this shoot.

The ringer?

This is my best friend and her man. If there was anyone on planet earth we wanted to deliver for it was Meg and Jon.

Wellllllllll, it was a downpour. We spent the evening under a really well placed gazebo, running out in the rain every moment it let up.

The result? A great memory.
A time capsule that’s honest.
A non-performative visual anchor to a fleeting season.

Your love story is right here right now!

If it rains, go on out there and dance in it.
It will age well 🤍 taken in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts by @theholtes

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5 days ago

you me and seven glaciers?

listennnnn, listen listen.

I don’t know what elevation we were at but for a minute there we were a part of a cloud passing through. We had enough to go on but I was hoping for a little something miraculous to send us over the metaphorical edge.

And lo and behold the sky opened up and sent nothing short of a spotlight directly on our hillside.

H+G’s rise into marriage continues to knock us over. It’s fine I’ll keep firing the camera from the ground.

A day we’ll never forget 🎞️ taken in Alaska, USA by @theholtes

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9 days ago

Details speak so you don’t have to. They tell the story of who you were the day you promised your lives to eachother without you ever having to get on the mic and say it.

We needed a moment just for Nick and Bree’s details.

Before you ever see their faces on this feed, how would you describe the feeling of their day?

A few digital sneaks while we process the film 🎞️ taken in Twenty Mile House by @theholtes

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a month ago

There really was only one way to send summer off correctly and this was it.

Kelsey and Sam really put on a masterclass about how to get hitched in a way that feels authentic. The deeper we waded into their day the more their friends chatted with us about how this level of joy is just who they are.

How do I know they all meant it? Well, you see all those wet people who jumped in the lake with them? That’s what buy-in looks like. We see a lot of wedding guests go through the motions of whatever the couple has requested with lack luster energy. It happens. But when over half of your guest list willingly jumps into cold water?

That’s love.

These two? Super loved.

More to come from this gorgeous September day on the lake. taken in Keep Tahoe Wild - Tag Responsibly by @theholtes

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17 days ago

Pro tip from Jared and Kate: get married in a ski lodge. Ski at the place you got hitched for the rest of time.

Brilliant.

These two oscillated perfectly between reverence and joy, serenity and silliness, honor and humor all day. It’s going to take me a while to land on the right words for 8/30/26. Until the novel arrives, simmer in the colors for a while. taken in Mount Rose Wilderness by @theholtes

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23 days ago

leaps willingly into tiny airplane 🦋

Private vows on a glacier in Alaska? Say less.

If you’re new here welcome to unhinged September- the one month a year where we let the intrusive thoughts become content and treat the internet like it’s 2016 again as a means of being transparent about what our life in the wedding photography world is like.

Stick around— next week I’m posting a wedding hot take that might sting a little…

Want a photographer for your 2027 wedding who will carry your experience with care AND levity? We’re there. Especially if you want to do things a little differently… 👀🎞️ taken in Alaska, USA by @theholtes

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a month ago

If you need us, mentally we’re still roaming the fairy lit paths between tiny A-frames in the redwoods with Darian and Morgan.

There’s just not a world where we can dive right into the heart of this day. Starting us off slow with a few details to dip our toes in.

I would say “imagine eating dinner with all your loved ones beneath the most sequoia-y redwoods you ever did see” but there’s no need to imagine. This place is a dream and these people filled it beautifully.

I know I say “more to come” a lot but really, lock in while we share this wedding in its entirety one photo at a time haha.

Left you a little surprise at the end with the real main characters of the day 🍌🐌 taken in Santa Cruz, California by @theholtes

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a year ago

I hate to do it to ya, but the gut punch of this story boils down to the last image in this set. I hope you’re here reading in time to hear the story and THEN swipe.

When you bravely bring us into the incredible milestone of the day you promise your futures to each other, our highest priority isn’t actually the photos (believe it or not).

It’s your experience of the moment.

We talk about this a lot around here— the photos exist to transport you back to this feeling for the rest of your lives, not to impress an audience.

Almost every dude who comes our way to tenderly plan a proposal with us asks about privacy, and we work together to pick a spot that you’ll likely have to yourselves.

At the end of the day, though, unless you own a private dock, we can’t guarantee a vacant beach, right?

Jake and Olivia broke the record for taking in the scenery and soaking in the moment BEFORE he popped the question. Truly. We’re always out of earshot if possible so the moment is truly yours and yours alone, but these two were mesmerized by each others presence in a way that’s rare.

So there I am waiting to see him drop to one knee for the big can’t-miss moment, when these sweet little ones come and play on the rocks behind them. Was I panicked? Ummm a little??? It’s easier than ever to clean up an image these days, but my concern was that they’d feel weird about some kiddos being near their proposal.

The kids make their way out of frame on their own.

Jake proposes.

Liv says “umm, DUH!!” (verbatim. I love her.)

We emerge from the bushes to celebrate and congratulate with big hugs.

And then the inevitable post-game recap happens where Jake admits all the little fibs he told that week to throw her off the scent, and Liv tells us all the clues she put together to know the big moment was coming.

I say “dude I was sweating when the kids were on the rock behind you!!!”

And both Jake and Liv turn to me, confused, and say…

“What kids??”

And THAT’S your lesson on waiting for the one soul on this earth who causes you to be so present, so grounded, and so filled with joy that the world takes a back seat.

Completely in the moment, drenched in joy. taken in Lake Tahoe by @theholtes

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5 months ago

For the first time ever, welcome behind the scenes.

Bridal party photos are a great example of how photography is one big energy exchange.

If I want you focused and calm you’ll see me be focused and calm first.

When we want you in party mode we’ll go there first.

It’s vulnerable to be on camera! I got to be a bridesmaid pretty recently and it helped me remember how it feels to be photographed knowing these images will be significant for decades to come.

We will never ask you to do something we’re not willing to do ourselves.

If you’ve been in one of our bridal parties we love ya, you did great 🤟🏼

Send this to your engaged friend who’s a little worried about how pictures will go. We’ve got you! taken in Lake Tahoe by @theholtes

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a month ago