Ruthanne Z. -

Megan Schnobrich

Not only is Ruthanne brilliant behind the camera, but she is absolutely flawless when it comes to curating the perfect elopement day beginning to end. After I got engaged, I felt a rush of anxiety over how to pull off an outdoor winter/spring elopement in less than 3 months. As someone who does not find joy in planning events whatsoever, when I got on the phone with Ruthanne, ALL of my stress + anxiety completely melted away. She’s not just a photographer, she’s an elopement day planning EXPERT.

She took all our hopes for the day, who we are as a couple, the location, the time of year, the mobility of our guests even, all into consideration and customized the perfect timeline for our day. And as someone who doesn’t like to be the center of attention, the day itself felt perfectly us: stress-free, family-oriented, simple, and intimate. It was truly a DREAM. It flowed effortlessly, all because of Ruthanne’s innate ability to communicate and coordinate people in such a professional way. She not only captured EPIC photos of my husband and I during a freezing cold + windy day, but she also shot incredibly priceless photos of our entire family that I didn’t except and will treasure forever.

Reviewing our album together brought out tears of joy—each photograph so beautifully captured and the colors, absolutely stunning. To be honest, I’ve lost track how many we’ve printed out for our home and for family, they’re just too good. It’s been almost a year and I still frequently review our album, tears in my eyes. It tells a story—the love + emotion from that day just radiate in each and every photograph. Thank you Ruthanne for the most beautiful photos of my life, for effortlessly guiding us through the entire process, and for giving me the gift of pure joy + peace on our special day.✨

Erin Bruzda

Ruthanne did a wonderful job capturing our wedding day. We had several barriers that of course popped up day-of, and she was able to navigate around all of them and come up with alternative solutions. We were lucky to have her by our sides and capture the beautiful Tahoe landscape on our special day!

Davis Anderson

When we started the wedding planning process, we discussed what the most important things were for us. We both decided that we wanted a laid back celebration that felt like a backyard BBQ with our family and friends. But, we both wanted to make sure that we found a photographer that captured who we really were. Ruthanne did that and so much more. Even though she typically does elopements and smaller weddings she recognized that it was important for us to have our big family there with us and she was all in for our day. From the first time we spoke, to getting coffee and talking through our day, to the actual day of, she made us feel so comfortable and it felt like we were truly gaining a friend through the process.

On the day of our wedding she captured every single moment and our photos are absolutely incredible. Our first look was on a dock on Donner Lake in some of the harshest light possible (sorry Ruthanne!) but she made it all come together and took some of our favorite photos from the day. The rest of the day, Ruthanne was incredible. She made sure we got all the shots we could possibly want with our family and friends as well as some special photos of just us that were relatively unplanned. At one point she was even in the lake to make sure she got the shots she wanted. All of our photos truly captured us as a couple and how special that day was for both of us.

Words do not do justice to just how incredible Ruthanne is and how much we loved working with her. If you are looking for a photographer, look no further. Ruthanne is the best there is!

Emily Martinez

In May of 2021, my husband, Brian, and I had the privilege of working with Ruthanne for our Tahoe elopement. I can confidently say that choosing her as our elopement guide/planner was one of the best decisions I made. I knew a traditional wedding was NOT for me. Just the thought of being the center of attention gives my introverted self mad anxiety.

From start to finish, Ruthanne created a truly magical experience that exceeded all my expectations. Her expertise, attention to detail, and commitment to making our elopement stress-free were absolutely remarkable. I am such a type-a, overthinking Virgo that planning things can be exhausting and overwhelming. Let me tell you that nothing about this process was stressful. Everything about her process was easy—how I believe a wedding should be.

The location Ruthanne selected on Donner Peak was nothing short of breathtaking. Having a ceremony next to the beautiful, mystical Catfish Pond is a location only Ruthanne could have dreamed up. Ruthanne's knowledge of the area allowed her to choose the perfect spots for our ceremony and photography. Every backdrop was carefully selected, resulting in stunning and unique photos that truly captured the essence of our special day.

The experience itself was incredibly enjoyable. Ruthanne has a warm and friendly personality that instantly puts you at ease. She ensured that every moment was filled with laughter, happiness, and genuine fun. Her ability to create a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere allowed us to be fully present, which I don't believe would be possible for me in a typical wedding setting.

10/10. 5 Stars. Do it for yourself because what Ruthanne provides is 100% worth it.

Alana Brassie

50/10 recommend Ruthanne as your wedding photographer & elopement planner. My husband and I had a dream of eloping in Maui, and even though Hawaii isn’t her stomping grounds, she did her research on all of the most beautiful, intimate locations on the island and captured every moment perfectly. We didn’t give her much notice of wanting to book her. In fact, we planned our wedding date around her availability!! That’s how much SHE meant to us in this planning. Thankfully she had a few open dates in November, so with a three week notice, she planned our day!! Her day of schedule went so smooth. We wanted to have the ceremony at sunset, that’s all we knew, but she planned the day out so we could have all of the little things fall into place, like coffee and breakfast, morning surf sesh, getting ready, the most beautiful first look, drinks and lunch before the ceremony, then planned a reservation for us at one of our favorite restaurants. All while capturing EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. To me, if you’re eloping, you want to hire someone who not only captures the day, but you want someone who is easy to be around since it’s basically only the couple and her most of the time. Ruthanne is the perfect for the job. She is so easy to communicate with, hears and listens to your vision, and delivers the most beautiful, timeless photos, and is so enjoyable to work with. Whether you’ve known her for years (me) or just met her in person that day, she easily becomes your friend with her amazing presence. NOTE: SHE IS NOT ONLY A TAHOE PHOTOGRAPHER. She will gladly fly to Hawaii or wherever else you are wanting to elope. Jack of all trades this woman is. Thank you so much Ruthanne for our beautiful wedding day. We will remember every detail forever because you captured our day so perfectly!

Connelly Rhea

Choosing Ruthanne was the BEST decision we made for our wedding. She made the process incredibly easy, stress-free, and FUN. Our pictures are so beautiful (were delivered so quickly!!) and capture all of the things we want to remember forever.

The day was perfect and her guiding us through everything allowed us to truly stay in the moment and get the most out of our important day. 1,000,000% recommend her, if I could get married every year I would choose her every time.

Blake Osborn

tl;dr: Ruthanne is fantastic. Hire her immediately and just let her plan your entire elopement.

Full review:
We eloped in Tahoe almost a year ago (August 2020) after postponing our larger, more traditional wedding in Austin due to Covid. Tahoe is one of our favorite places to spend time, so after postponing, I started looking into elopement options. I went through a bunch of google images and opened all the photos I loved in new tabs so I could talk to those vendors; as luck would have it, almost every photo I fell in love with was taken by Ruthanne.
I saw that she also offers full elopement packages that include not only photography, but also planning and securing other vendors, so I set up a call with her in July. We hit if off immediately and I was thrilled to let her have full control over the day. We wanted to elope in August and were worried about the quick turnaround, but Ruthanne was fabulous and found a way to fit us in (even though she had another elopement the following day).
Other than booking our stay at the Edgewood, we did absolutely nothing else. Ruthanne found an amazing location for our vows and photos, hired Meredith (who is also fantastic) for our ceremony, got my bouquet from Love and Lupines, and scheduled Susan from the fabulous Jireh Artistry to do my hair/makeup. It was so easy I almost couldn't believe it, and every single vendor was fabulous.
The day itself was pure magic. Ruthanne is fun and easygoing, and I felt like we had been friends forever. We enjoyed lunch at the hotel, went for a drive, exchanged wedding gifts (I love the photos she captured of my husband opening his watch), got ready, did a first look, hiked up a mountain, and got married! It was the perfect day and the photos are truly spectacular. My husband and I (and all of our friends and family) are obsessed. I can't stop looking through my album even a year later.
So seriously, just hire Ruthanne and let her plan everything. You won't regret it.

Kelly Boland

My husband and I heard about Ruthanne via friend we met in a dog park in the Bay Area. We got engaged in March and we’re overwhelmed with how to plan a wedding during a pandemic. I was so impressed by the unique photographs she took of her couples on Instagram In the most incredible settings so I reached out. From our initial conversation Ruthanne was attentive, asked great questions, helped us create a vision for our day and was there every step of the way in helping with execution. She was selfless in providing us with local vendor referrals that helped pull our perfect day together and was so patient with my many questions and inquiries. She scoped out locations and took the time to meet us before our wedding to check a few out together.

We pulled together our wedding in 4 weeks and it would not have seemed possible without Ruthanne. Her expertise in elopements made us feel so comfortable and calm as we felt like we were in great hands. She was flexible where needed and we truly could feel her passion and commitment to making sure our day was perfect... which it absolutely was.

Ruthanne felt like a part of the family that day as she melded in with the few loved ones we had with us and was there to capture every moment. She had great rapport with the videographer she referred and my husband and I never felt awkward at any point being in the limelight (which is so not us). Because she took the time to get to know us before the wedding, she knew our personalities and how to guide us through the day not missing a beat. She was with us from sunrise (literally a sunrise hike to kick off the day) to well into the evening.

The pictures speak for themselves but if you want a unique experience designed just for you and yours with nature as your alter, I would look no future. Ruthanne is incredible and you will not regret it!