Green Wedding Shoes Wedding Blog | Wedding Trends for Stylish + Creative Brides

Doan + Jason had a wedding weekend starting on Friday with a traditional Buddhist ceremony in Pasadena, followed by an American ceremony in Palm Springs on Saturday. It was important to Doan + Jason that their wedding was a very personal experience to share with their family + friends. They had Jason’s aunt as their wedding officiant and all the rest of their guests also participated in a small part of the ceremony as well. They really wanted everyone to truly feel and be a part of the bond that was being celebrated through their wedding.

They also wanted their wedding to be an actual party and just a fun time with all their closest friends + family! They found the perfect location at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs (love that place too!!) and served lots of great food, drink + treats! Instead of traditional wedding favors, they provided their guests with a candy bar consisting of all of their favorite Asian snacks to take home. In addition to the standard drinks, they had alcoholic snow cones at the bar. They wanted the wedding to be a special day, but they also wanted it to be a blast for everyone involved and I think you will see it was a huge success! Thanks so much to Heidi of Our Labor of Love for the dreamy photos and congrats to Doan + Jason!

From Doan, Photography was very important to us. You’ll have the photos forever and they’ll be the best way to relive the great memories of the wedding day. Try to also set aside some extra time to take photos in interesting and fun locations [like they did above!]. It’s not too often that most people have the chance to get made up, dress up, and have a professional photograph them. Thus, maximize the experience and enjoy yourself while doing so. We did!

Tell us a bit about your music!

Groom’s Processional: “All I Want is You,” Vitamin String Quartet
Bride’s Processional: “Just Like Heaven,” Vitamin String Quartet
Recessional: “Hoppípolla,” Sigur Rós
First Dance: “Make You Feel My Love,” Adele

Most memorable moment of your wedding day?
The most memorable moment of our wedding was definitely when we exchanged our vows. We wrote our own vows, which we recommend others do as well if possible. It was truly a special moment when we exchanged vows and heard what we had written for one another. It was during this process when the power and mystique of our marriage really began to feel tangible for the first time. We will never forget those moments for the rest of our lives.

Any advice for those planning now?

This may sound really obvious and a given for some people, but one piece of advice we have for others who are currently planning their weddings is to make sure to do things the way you want. Once you let people know you’re getting married, it seems like everyone has an opinion about what your wedding should be like. In the end, though, it’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s expectations and requests. More importantly, your wedding should be about you, your partner, and how you want the celebration to go.

Second, your wedding day is guaranteed to fly by. The experience is amazing, but before you know it, the day is over. Thus, in our opinion, it’s very important to hire a great photographer whose style you like to help you capture all the fun and beautiful moments of your wedding. Hiring a photographer we really liked was one of the best decisions we made. We definitely know that weddings can be expensive and costs seem to sneakily increase without you even noticing. 

vendors:
photography: Heidi of Our Labor of Love // venue: Ace Hotel & Swim Club, Palm Springs // day of coordinator: April Seuss of The Bride and I // floral design: Primary Petals // wedding dress: custom Monique Lhuillier (and it’s for sale) // hairpieces: Twigs & Honey // shoes: Christian Louboutin // hair + makeup: Kelly Zhang // groom suit: Prada // invitations+ paper goods: bride // catering: Ace Hotel // cake: Over the Rainbow Cupcakes // music: James Gonzales

Primary Petals is a featured vendor of Green Wedding Shoes. Check out their vendor profile to see more of their work or discover other GWS recommended vendors for your wedding day in our Vendor Guide.

Renee + Brett wanted an untraditional reception venue. They love mid-century modern design and after walking into the store Design Within Reach one day, they knew they found the perfect location! Design Within Reach even allowed them to use all of their fabulous furniture + decor which gave their reception a lounge-like, yet also a home, comfortable feel. This just goes to show you that you really can think out-of-the-box for your venue! It never hurts to ask – even if the location isn’t a typical wedding venue. Sometimes the most unexpected places make the best + most memorable locations. Thanks so much to Ventola Photography for the lovely photos + big congrats to Renee + Brett!

Most memorable moment of your wedding day? We have two most memorable moments, the first being our first look. It was really great to take a deep breath and have some time together before all of the festivities broke loose, just the two of us. Next, there was a time during our reception where we took a step back and just took it all in, the dancing, the music, the laughter, and all of our friends and family. Our day was so full of love, and we have our wonderful friends and family to thank for that.

What song did you walk down the aisle to? Married Life from the movie Up and Pachelbel’s Canon in D played during our processional. Our recessional song was All You Need is Love.

I think this is the most amazing watermelon I’ve ever seen!! What a cool idea – although way too pretty to eat! :)

Any advice for those planning now? Don’t forget to have fun and don’t overwhelm yourself! When it felt like we needed a break, we would schedule a weekend off – no wedding planning or wedding events for a weekend. Remember that you’re having a wedding to marry the love of your life, so don’t get too stressed out planning the wedding because what’s most important and what you’ll have when the day is all over is the love and the marriage. Trust that everything will come together and fall into place. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box – we are lucky that nowadays, anything goes when it comes to weddings. Work with vendors that you connect with personally and professionally and hire a wedding planner or day-of coordinator – this will help make the wedding planning and the wedding day a smooth and enjoyable process.

vendors:
photographer: Ventola Photography // venue: Design Within Reach // event planner: A Day to Cherish // hair stylist: The Root Salon // caterer: Fresh from the Kitchen // music: Ray the DJ // bridesmaids dresses: J. Crew // wedding dress: David’s Bridal // cake designer: Honey Moon Sweets Bakery and Dessert Bar

Ventola Photography is a featured vendors of Green Wedding Shoes, check out their vendor profile to see more of their work or discover other GWS recommended vendors for your wedding day in our Vendor Guide.

Sarah is a graphic designer and Dean is a photographer, what a perfect combination! Together they own a small branding + design company called Broad Daylight. Their wedding was full of handmade details, including paper flowers and lots of air plants that Sarah collected. Their ceremony was small and beautiful, with all of their vows consisting of “we do’s” rather than traditional “I do’s”- love that twist on the tradition! Congrats to Sarah + Dean and thanks so much to Amanda McKinnon for the photos.

My bouquet is an airplant that I found at a nursery while I was on vacation this past year. All off the other live plants were succulents and airplants that I had grown.

We found the location for our wedding while we we out for the night watching some live music. The venue was amazing and while looking around noticed that it was was available for event rental and we were sold. We wanted an evening low on formality and full of time to spend with friends and family, many of whom flew from all over the country. We have a common love of and history with photography, so we set up a photo booth in the reception area and hung our photography on the walls with the aim of creating an atmosphere of fun and conversation.