Stephanie & Adam // Mammoth Convict Lake Wedding

Stephanie and Adam first met in high school, and had a brief fling but were in no way ready for a relationship. Adam spent his days riding a unicycle around campus (I have incredibly vivid memories of this for some reason), and Stephanie spent hers slaying countless AP classes and.. also tutoring me in chemistry (bless her soul). Years later, after graduating college, the two reconnected, and were finally in the right place at the right time to fall in love and live happily ever after.

The funniest part of my personal connection to their relationship is that I can track it, as it unfolded, by looking back at my Facebook messages from Stephanie about Adam. The following are real excerpts from those exchanges:

11/13/11: “He rejected me -__-.”

5/13/12: “Well apparently we were a thing… He was scared of being in a relationship… and then he asked me to prom and now this!?”

12/25/20: “Hi Sara! Long time no talk obviously.. SO me and Adam got engaged (long story)… and do you still do wedding photography?!”

SO. DANG. FUNNY. I actually read ALL of my messages from Stephanie ALOUD to the couple & their friends during their wedding (in an outrageous, theatrical way) and could not stop laughing at some of the more *colorful* ones that Steph & I exchanged when Adam was “leading her on” in high school. Let it be known, I have always been team Steph 100%. Girls have to have each other’s backs.. what can I say?!

After officially getting together, Stephanie & Adam moved to Mammoth, where they’ve lived for the last couple of years with their enormous, adorable dog Keanu. While brainstorming exactly what they envisioned for their wedding, the two decided there was really nowhere more stunning to get married than their picturesque mountain town. From there, they narrowed down venues, and chose to have their wedding celebration at the beautiful Convict Lake Resort with the glistening crystal blue lake as their ceremony backdrop.

When their day finally arrived, I left SoCal before sunrise to travel up to Convict Lake. Although finding a way to get there a mere 12 hours after wrapping an 11-hour work day in Malibu day was a slight struggle, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, and was so excited to visit the area for the first time. Upon arrival, I was totally wowed by the beauty of Mammoth! I went straight to the couple’s side-by-side condos where they and their friends were getting ready, and immediately felt at home alongside their enthusiastic and outrageously friendly pals. Beyoncé music videos blasted on the TV as the girls got ready (and danced along), and Adam and his brother cracked each other up while getting him into his tuxedo jacket next door. Then, Stephanie got into her magnificent princess ball gown (dress 1 of 2 for the day!), and we all headed over to the lake.

My biggest struggle throughout their day was honestly how WINDED I felt because of the sudden altitude change—Mammoth is at almost 8k feet, and I live at 800 ft. Luckily, I was sufficiently distracted by 1) the couple’s handsome, bear-sized dog, 2) their sweet, kind, wonderful wedding parties and 3) the freakin’ UNBELIEVABLE beauty of the setting. 

After a week of below-freezing temps and just preceding a winter storm (which rolled in the following evening), Stephanie and Adam’s 60º and sunny day was a true blessing from the weather Gods. Without a cloud in the sky, they were able to exchange vows next to the sparkling blue water, take newlywed portraits in front of the expansive snow-dusted mountainscape + among the fall colors, smile through family photos amongst the breezy Aspen grove, and dance the night away in the venue’s picture-perfect white reception tent. 

The day unfolded wonderfully and almost without a hitch. The only issue that arose was when gale-force winds blew through the couple’s ceremony location before + during their sweet ceremony. Perched right on the shore of Convict Lake, their gorgeous floral-adorned arch took a sad and fatal tumble moments before their ceremony. Conveniently, the setting served as a flawless backdrop in and of itself, and they have photos of the arch to remember it by. :) The gusty wind brought a lot of character to their ceremony, as Steph’s bridesmaids had to physically hold her veil to stop it from taking flight. I always say… ONE thing has to go wrong at each wedding, and since the fallen arch was the biggest casualty, I called it a success!

I am so SO grateful I got to be a small part of Stephanie & Adam becoming the LeGaults, and to witness such a momentous chapter in their 10+ year love story. Their wedding was an absolutely perfect, laughter-filled, dream of a day.

Congratulations to my sweet friends!!!!