Erin and Tommy at Evergreen Lodge

After changing weddings plans once due to a pandemic, Larissa and Jordan’s wedding plans would drastically change one more time when the smoke from the Creek Fire swallowed Yosemite.

The Air Quality Index for Yosemite was off the scale, straight into hazardous. Their ideas of a relaxing day strolling through Yosemite Valley slipped away, just as the views of those same peaks slipped away. Seeing the odds stack up again, we talked, going over every available option for their wedding. Should they delay their wedding? Perhaps relocate the wedding? For Larissa and Jordan, there was no choice. This would be their day.

Yosemite Valley was nearly empty for their wedding, giving us freedom to visit many of my favorite spots with no one else around. The dense smoke literally changed the way we saw Yosemite, giving us a glimpse of the process that provides constant change to the place we love so much. For safety, we all wore respirators and masks, only to take them off just before a photograph. In the end, Larissa and Jordan were treated with a dreamy soft glow throughout the park that isn’t seen by many. By the day’s end, the smoke became something not to be upset by, but appreciated.