Kasey + Erich // Mendoza Argentina
Cavas Wine Lodge
I remember when we first got the email from Kasey and Erich asking if we were interested in flying to Central Argentina and Patagonia for their wedding. I definitely thought it sounded too good to be true, and tried my best not to get my hopes up. What they described was quite literally my dream wedding to shoot — equally adventurous as it was intimate. Centered around family and unique experiences, wholly wrapped up in the sweetness that is love and travel. Then when Kasey and Erich were in Vail for a medical conference and we all got drinks at the brewery together, I knew these were my people. We talked and laughed about travel and art in a crowded bar where we had to nearly shout to hear each other. It was fantastic.
Nearly a year later, Nate and I found ourselves boarding a plane headed for Mendoza, Argentina — a place often compared to the Central Valley of California, only with taller mountains and more empanadas. We arrived in the tiny airport a half hour before Kasey and Erich and their families and loaded into a van with the words “wine safari” written on the side.
We arrived at Cavas Wine Lodge and were greeted with a hefty pour of white wine from the vineyard, which was a pretty great first impression for what the rest of the week would look like. The next three days involved various activities of hiking and horseback riding, wine tasting and rooftop dinners under the stars, all of which were organized by Kasey and Erich. Their wedding day was relaxed—none of the hustle and bustle of vendors and flowers and suits being pressed. Kasey sat quietly and content while her hair was being curled, no agenda or timeline to put stress on the day. By the time the ceremony rolled around, the sun was low in the sky, casting orange rays through the peaks of Tupungato and Aconcagua.
Kasey walked through rows of Bonarda grapes as she came down the aisle. Their vows were swollen with emotion—how does one describe 10 years of adventures together in a simple paragraph? Everyone was in tears. Their story of supporting each other at different times while each one was pursuing their dreams, and now after all these years, to finally have the opportunity to join lives—I think everyone in attendance admired their tenacity, selflessness, and strength to get to where they are now. To capture it was a huge privilege. And to watch as the South American summer sun went down behind the Andes, felt romantic and right.
A few activities before the wedding
Wedding under the Argentinian Andes
We spent a week traveling with Kasey and Erich, which provided such a wonderful amount of candid time to get to know them. Their wedding week was such a deeply true embodiment of their values, and after having spent several days adventuring alongside them and their families, we felt like we’d known them our whole lives. Kasey and Erich have been together for over ten years, but the way they expressed their affection for each other during the weekend we were with them made it seem like a new romance—giddy laughter and flirtatious touches and all. Residing underneath that, there was something deeply intimate. Having traveled all over the world together, dealt with long distance, and basically watched each other grow up into adults has solidified their affections into something so powerfully sustained. In all of it, their wedding wasn’t about them, but about being able to share what they love with the ones they love.
Mendoza is a far cry from their families’ residences in Hawaii, Colorado, and the Midwest. Some of their family members had never even traveled internationally. Kasey and Erich gave their guests such a unique experience—one graciously rooted in the goodness of travel and adventure, two things that have more or less defined their story together. When you get all your people to a place they’ve never been, provide a beautiful place to stay, and when everyone starts to get a little wine drunk after their glasses keep getting filled, you begin to see a more free and inspired version of the people you love.
And that is the beauty that I find so compelling about weddings. A reason to celebrate, to dance, to cry and hug and soak up the all the goodness that is love. This wedding was one for the books, and I can only hope to continue to be allowed into spaces like these.
After their wedding, we hopped on a plane headed for the southern tip of the world—Patagonia. See more from their epic bridal session here!
Venue, Guides, Flowers, & Food: Cavas Wine Lodge
Dress: Sara Janks from Love & Lace
Paper Goods: Indigo Blue Design
Groom’s Attire: Suit Supply
Cedar & Pines is an adventurous wedding and elopement photographer duo made up of Nate and Megan Kantor, a married couple living in their Airstream and traveling the American West. They believe in honest wedding photography, capturing the small candid moments to the epic landscape views. They travel to photograph adventure elopements and destination weddings in Colorado, California, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Washington, Patagonia and the ends of the earth.
