By Scott

What a pleasure it was for me to finally come back to the White Wolf venue for some quality wedding photography. The last time I was there was as a photojournalist for the Reno Gazette-Journal covering the on-going saga of the the usage of this property situated between Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley ski resorts. Most locals in the area know the story of property owner Troy Caldwell who, back in the 1980’s, pulled the biggest coup ever in the ski industry and bought 460 acres of land between the two resorts, including the famous KT-22 mountain, out from under Squaw Valley when Southern Pacific Land Company put it up for sale. Since then, Caldwell has put in a private ski lift as part of his grand vision for the property. No surprise, lots of court battles later and the lift still sits emtpty. But in the mean time Caldwell has converted this property into a unique and off the beaten path wedding venue.

I was so excited when Katherine and Bob contacted me about photographing their wedding there. They are an adventurous couple and love traveling and Burning Man and when they said the bride planned to paddleboard up to the altar and that fire spinners would perform during the reception, I knew this would be one to remember. We started off with only a few minutes of getting ready in nearby Dollar Point, with the couple prefering to focus the shooting time on the wedding and party afterwards. Good choice!

As a wedding venue, this place has a lot of beautiful backdrops for photography. There is a waterfall that cascades down the granite hillside behind the wedding area, a lake where guests can canoe and paddle board, and the 2 story cement chair lift building. Katherine and Bob being the adventurous types they are had no problem climbing the vertical ladder through a small metal tube to get up on to the roof for some fun photos.