What Shoes to Wear for Your Lake Tahoe Elopement or Session
We often see our couples show up in the wrong type of shoes for their Lake Tahoe elopement, wedding or session. They want those gorgeous photos in the mountains, but their shoe choice and their attire just aren’t ideal. We want to help out if you’re unsure what shoes to wear and let you know how to properly plan for your amazing outdoor photo session.
Why Proper Shoes Are Important
Because we live in the mountains, we are never on flat pavement or grounds unless we're indoors. Our trails are sandy, uneven, and full of roots, and boulders. The ground can also often be wet, damp, and even muddy. So, no matter where you are, the grounds just are not suitable for heels of any kind. Heels are just never a good idea when it comes to hiking around Lake Tahoe. We also see our couples show up in flat sandals during the winter months and then get their feet wet and cold. Not to mention, you should always prepare for the weather to change because the weather is unpredictable here, and it can often get windy. If you show up in improper shoes or get too cold because you didn't bring a jacket or layer, we are extremely limited as to where we can go to not break an ankle. You can always bring a change of shoes if you’d like a couple of photos with your “nice” shoes. But keep in mind that it then takes time to change in and out of them.
What Shoes to Wear
When it comes to picking your shoes for your Lake Tahoe elopement, you’ll want to pick shoes that cover these two things:
COMFORT
Since you’ll be wearing these shoes all day long, you want to make sure they’re comfortable. They shouldn’t be too big or too small, which means you’ll definitely want to try them on before your wedding day. Odds are you’ll want to break them in before your wedding day too. The last thing you want is blisters because they’re brand new shoes.
TRACTION
As we mentioned, you’ll be hiking over boulders and roots, and areas can get slick and slippery. You’ll want shoes that have adequate traction so you don’t fall. This goes for men and women. Men’s dress shoes can sometimes be equally as bad as heels as they are super slick and don't offer any traction or grip.In general, we recommend boots for your wedding day. Don’t worry! You can absolutely find cute and even white boots for your wedding day. It just takes a little research.
Bonus Attire Tips
You’ll also want to pay attention to what socks you’re pairing with your shoes. Dress socks are usually too thin for the type of shoes you’ll be wearing, which are meant to be worn with thicker socks. So, choose socks that are great for comfort and possibly cold weather. Since weather is so unpredictable and it can often be extremely cold, we recommend layers, including under layers depending on how cold it is. You don’t want to cut your portraits short because you’re too cold to continue! Pick an outer layer that you’re fine with being in your photographs, so you’re not putting it on and taking it off the entire time.
Knowing what shoes to wear for your outdoor elopement is so important. You want to be comfortable throughout your wedding day, and you want to have as much staying power as possible. As Lake Tahoe photographers with years of experience, we’re happy to help our couples, so they have the best wedding day possible. Reach out to us, so we can start planning together!