Luxury Wedding Planner Andrea Eppolito. Photo & Video by M Place Pro.

Welcome to my reality-show series which takes you behind the scenes while I set up a multi-million dollar wedding in Lake Tahoe.

One of the first things I ask all of my couple's during our initial consultation is, “If you could have anything you wanted, how would you imagine your wedding experience? How do you want to feel? If the world was a perfect place, what would it look like to you?” My couple dreamt of a Winter Wonderland in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. This is a place that holds sentimental meaning to both of them and to their families. They own a house nearby in Martis Camp, and my beautiful bride Jessie told me that she wanted to host a multi-day event that allowed them the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with all of their guests. After years of separation, Jessie wanted to create a sense of community and intimacy, with daily activities and nighttime events. Our itinerary would include spa appointments and ski days, apres-ski hot toddies, and nights full of music and dancing.

“I really hope it snows,” Jessie said. “I would really hate to get there and not be surrounded by snow.”

We had six days to build my couple a custom, outdoor atrium while also transforming two ballrooms and their private residence for a VIP party as the bridal party and special guests began to arrive. Knowing how important the snow was to her, I had to be prepared for one of two things….No snow, which would have required me to bring in man-made powder or natural snow, which could have impacted our production. I engaged the concierge meteorology services of Ironic Reports to track the weather. We all crossed or fingers and hoped for snow….

And snow it did! Snow began falling slow and steady in the days leading up to our arrival. On Day 1 of our load in, however, we experienced a full snowstorm! Five of our 7 semi trucks were stopped by California Highway Patrol and could not come up the mountain. After attempting to reroute them, we made the decision to send box trucks down the mountain and unload the semis into the box trucks. We gained a few miles more, but we were stopped again. This time, we unloaded the box trucks onto fork lifts, which could only take up so far. With a few more miles to go, we unloaded our fork lifts and quite literally hand carried items up the rest of the hill and into the venue.

One of the things I do best is crisis management. When the deck is stacked and we are painted into a corner, I don’t get stressed out or frazzled. Instead, I get sharp. Intense. My fascination with question trees and game theory means that I always have multiple scenarios mapped out. Still, losing 27 hours of combined production time was definitely a start that I didn’t expect to have….

But it’s the unexpected that makes life fun! Enjoy watching Day 1 of our 6 Day Load in and be sure to check in and watch our full series as it rolls out this week. Yes, of course I produce these weddings for my couple, but these BTS videos are all for you!

Always…a

CREDITS:

Luxury Wedding Planner: Andrea Eppolito. Venue: Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe. Production: Blueprint Studios and Hensley Events. Documentary Video: M Place Pro.