Lisa + Alan love Palm Springs for many reasons: the great winter weather (their wedding was in February), the mid century modern design + architecture, and the gorgeous desert surroundings. They often take mini vacations there and it was also the perfect location since it was a great meeting place for their families (Lisa is from San Diego and Alan is from Los Angeles). Early on they decided that their wedding needed to be a big fun party for all their friends and family to enjoy. They didn’t want the reception to feel too serious or uptight and their big master plan? To have a crazy dance party! :) Lisa is a graphic designer and created the sweetest invites, menu and tote bag – oh, and she made her wedding dress with some help from her mom! What a great bonding project. Big thanks to One Love Photo for the gorgeous photos and congrats to Lisa + Alan!
Sewing my wedding dress was a pretty large project. I knew exactly what type of dress I was looking for, and at the time I couldn’t find it anywhere. I finally found my dream dress as a vintage pattern in an antique store. With the help of my Mom we made the dress I had imagined. In the end it wasn’t perfect, but I still loved it, and I loved wearing it so much. I really wish I could wear it again honestly.
I wanted to give Alan a little wedding surprise, so I secretly sewed a blue heart in his coat jacket with an L&A on it.
I think I was a little surprised that one of my favorite parts was the ceremony. Originally I was pretty afraid to be in front of everyone, and the church felt a bit intimidating. It can be a lot of work to hold a wedding in a Catholic Church. there is so much preparation ahead of time. But, it was really important to both of our families, and in the end it was very meaningful to us. Also, the priest made us laugh, so that was a plus.
I think for both Alan and I, our most memorable moments were the first look, driving to the church, and walking into the reception in all it's decorated, people filled glory. Even though we had already seen each other in the morning setting up for the reception. These moments made us think wow this is finally real. It was so exciting, plus we finally saw each other all gussied up.. aww!
Another special moment for me was the unofficial father/daughter dance which was right after the official one. My Dad's side of the family is polish, so I had our DJ play my favorite polka song for him, but I wasn't expecting him to whisk me back onto the dance floor to polka with him. Everyone was standing around smiling and clapping. So much better than the slow dance. I will remember it forever.
My Mom is making us a wedding quilt, which I can not wait to have in our home. She cut out all the fabric squares, and our friends and family wrote their wishes to us. I think it’s really neat to have things from our wedding that we can use and see in everyday life.
We made all the centerpieces ourselves by thrifting, ebaying, etsying, milk glass and planting succulents. We also had some vases with dried flowers.
One thing some people wondered about was, what’s up with the cans of Red Stripe? Well, that was our classy little tribute to how we began dating after a company trip to Jamaica. All of our coworkers definitely got it.
The best advice I received from a friend, was to not let the details take over. To remember that Alan loves me, and just wants to marry me, and that the color of the napkins won't make a difference. I think it was really good advice and I would always think of it whenever I got stressed out about something.
My advice would be to make decisions as early as possible. I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted for our wedding early on, but I still waited until the very last minute to pull the trigger on most things. Be confident in what you think is right, so you're not scrambling at the last minute.
Also, figure out which vendors are most important to you. To us, this was the music and photography. The right DJ can keep the dance floor packed all night and the photographs will be how you remember your day forever. The style of photography was super important to us and when we look at ours they make us so happy.
photography: One Love Photo // venue name: Ace Hotel // wedding dress: handmade by bride and bride's mom // bride's shoes: Lela Rose for Payless // bridesmaid dresses: Asos, Zara, Vintage, Kate Spade, Anna Elyse, David's Bridal and BB Dakota // catering: Ace Hotel // cake: Over the Rainbow Cupcakes // bouquets: Cachet Fiore // ceremony flowers: Cachet Fiore // dessert: Over the Rainbow Cupcakes // macarons: Doly's Delectables // DJ: DJ Exxxplosivo // hair and make-up: Kimmi Le Hair & Makeup // hair accessory: BHLDN // groom's apparel: Calvin Klein // invites: Bride (Lisa Viado) // graphic design: Bride (Lisa Viado) // video: Alan Silva // streamers: Extravagant Exits // gourmet lollypops: The Candied Flower // cake topper: Bunny With a Tool Belt // candy table linen: Anna Joyce // table numbers: Liz Artistry // dried flowers: Its Old and save-on-crafts.com // table runner for family table: Fringe Fiber // flower girl headbands: Sunshine and Carousels // groom's wedding band: hersteller // bride's wedding band: Seababe Jewelry
stellar portraits of the bride and groom in the desert. love that this was an off season one.
Absolutely stunning!!..LOVE the colours, and such attention to detail!
Love this wedding! The desert portraits are amazing! One Love will be shooting us in LA in July and seeing this wedding made me SO excited. They did a great job capturing a different aspect of the Ace – the Stargazing terrace and shots from the patios are superb and make it stand out from other ace weddings. Beautifully done all around, and great advice from the bride. ;)
You are going to love Heather and Jon from One Love! They are the nicest people, and it felt like hanging out with friends. I’m sure your pictures will be awesome. Enjoy your day!!
Lovely photos and great advice from the bride!
Give me a break!!! So rad.
Love the surprise the bride did for the groom by adding the fabric heart into his suit jacket! So adorable!
I’m in love with that first photo! Wow!
Lisa, what church is that?!? Trying to find a pretty one in Palm Springs and that is it!!