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.

I heart the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. It’s one of my favorite places and I love featuring weddings there since they always looks so fun, but are yet so different. I love that Allison + Matt didn’t let a little rain ruin their day and wait until you see the portraits Noa of Feather Love Photography captured. Allison’s Temperley London dress it to die for - seriously, I think it’s my new favorite dress. And air plants, yep, they are IN. Big time. Congrats to Allison + Matt!

Love that photo above of Allison + her Dad – love how happy he is!

Vendors
Photography: Feather Love Photography – check out more from the wedding here on Noa’s blog
Table centerpieces: Allison Bell (Bride) // Sweet heart table and welcome table: Ribbons and Rust
Bridal Gown: Temperley London // Venue: Ace Hotel, Palm Springs // Bouquets + Cake Topper: Cachet Fiore
Cake: My Favorite Cakes and Cookies // Hair + Make-up: Tia Miyahara – skinbytia[at]gamil{dot}com

I have such a sweet Palm Springs wedding to share with you guys today! Natali + Brian have always known they would get married in Palm Springs as it held a special place in their hearts. After an exhaustive search of potential venues they decided on the understated but gorgeous Horizon Hotel.

From Natali, “The aesthetic of the William Cody designed Mid-Century Modern buildings and the desert landscape matched our own personal style and was reflected in everything from invitations and color palette to recurring imagery and attire. It was a constant aim to marry natural materials and earthy tones with sharp whites, blacks and chic, personal touches. We wanted the desert environment and ethereal light to play against the bold, angular architecture and for our wedding to feel as if it had literally sprung from this setting.” P.S. We Love You.

Thanks so much to the lovely Jessica Claire for letting me share her photos with you guys today!

This purse had a special story – it gets passed through her circle of friends and each girl carries it on her wedding day.  What a sweet tradition!

Love their first look! :)

Love this adorable guest photo book station - especially the retro Cali scarf they used for the backdrop!

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding day? Surrounded by everyone we love, standing under the huppah exchanging vows by candlelight. For all of our planning and preparations for some odd reason it had never occurred to either us that the ceremony intentionally scheduled to begin just after sundown would largely take place in the dark. Our rabbi was thoughtful and kind enough to keep the havdalah candle burning throughout and the outcome was unexpectedly sublime. The rest of the day wasn’t too shabby either.

We selected the music for our wedding from start to finish, and although it took months of planning we are so happy to have the soundtrack of our day as a record of nearly every song played. There wasn’t an obvious choice for our first dance but when we heard Otis Redding’s That’s How Strong My Love Is just weeks before we tied the knot we knew it was The One. Whenever we hear it played it feels like it was written just for us.

Any advice for those planning now? Trust your instincts. People who love you mean well but they don’t always share your focus or vision, and that’s fine. Just don’t let them steer you off track. We had a strong aesthetic that we worked passionately towards which reflected our shared sense of style. If we had allowed others to sway us from our path it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as endearing or beautiful a day. And it wouldn’t have been us, which is what it’s all about really anyway.

• Great Vendors = Great Wedding. We worked diligently to seek out our Dream Team of vendors. While I undertook the design and styling of the wedding, there is no way we could have pulled it off without the help of our dedicated vendors and fabulous coordinators at Celebrations of Joy! Work only with those you adore and trust wholeheartedly. Figure out what’s worth splurging on and what isn’t. Whatever your budget you can’t have everything but in the end it isn’t really a ‘deal’ to save a few bucks if it means compromising your vision. And before you think something has to be taken off the table due to finances, scour Etsy, consider creating it yourself or enlist a resourceful friend or family member.

• A good wedding website can go a long way. We paid a nominal fee for a unique URL, template and hosting service and then spent a few hours uploading content and photos. The result was a spectacular looking custom site guests could visit for details about our wedding weekend. Feedback was exceptional and definitely worth the time and effort. Talk about bang for your buck!

• Enjoy the Journey! Planning our wedding was truly a labor of love. In the end we accomplished what we set out to do and couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. But the road to get there was equally as exhilarating and wonderfully memorable too.

Thanks so much Natali + Brian and best wishes in your married life! Thanks so much also to Jessica Claire for letting me share her gorgeous photos. :)

Vendors:
Photographer:  Jessica Claire //  Coordinator:  Celebrations of Joy //  Venue: The Horizon Hotel
Florist:  Arrangements  //  Rentals:  Classic and Found //  Linens:  TE Couture Linens
Invitations + Paper Goods: Mok Duk by Anne Benjamin //  Caterer:  Shermans of Palm Desert
Custom Hairpiece: Twigs & Honey //  Bridal Bolero: Bonzie //  Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew
Hair: Joy Fields of J. Russell Salon // Makeup: Chip Tuvman of J. Russell Salon
Groom Suit: Calvin Klein  //  Bespoke Groom and Groomsmen Shirts: G. Peirce Clothing
Custom Cake Topper: Lollipop Workshop //  Music: Dj Chris Paul  //  Wedding Website: Wedding Window