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From the bride… Brian and I wanted to feel like us on our wedding day — carefree and laid back. Having our loved ones take part in our big day was a personal experience for us — our good family friend officiated the wedding, our best friends and family members made up our wedding party, Brian’s childhood friends played the ceremony music and shot the day on 8 mm film, and our readers are close friends as well. We wanted our day to be easy — no stress for our guests or us. This feeling was the same for our décor. We wanted to have an understated sophistication and elegance. Basically, we didn’t want to go over-the-top. We kept everything very simple — planning, décor, flowers, using in-house pastries versus purchasing an additional wedding cake, and we added fun touches that tied into our mod desert venue (palm fans for programs, printed canvas gift bags, vintage family photos and Jonathan Adler “Mr. & Mrs. Muse” cake toppers). Finding The Parker as a venue was perfect for us because the décor is similar to our style: a fusion of classic, rustic, artistic and eclectic. When planning our big day, we focused on the decor and natural beauty of the gardens at the resort. Using what we had available allowed us to stay within a budget, but also helped to keep things simple like we wanted. With 90% of our guests flying in for the wedding, we wanted everyone to be taken care of. We wanted our guests to have an experience staying at a relaxing and beautiful hotel where the wedding would be steps away.

For the indoor reception, we wanted the ambiance to feel dark and warm, like at some of our favorite restaurants. We had a long table going down the middle of the room with our family and friends surrounding us, which made it feel intimate. The focus was on the experience and making sure our guests enjoyed themselves. The food was phenomenal; the music got everyone onto the dance floor; and our photographer, Shannen, captured countless candid moments. Finding the perfect venue and vendors truly made our day stress free.  We knew everything was taken care of and that our big day would go off without a hitch. 

I spent the day getting ready with my mom, soon-to-be mother-in-law and best friends in the world.  Although I was so happy to be with them, I couldn’t wait to see Brian. Once I was ready, I remember walking with Shannen to our first look location, having no idea where she was taking me. She held my dress as I babbled on about who knows what. As soon as I saw Brian, he took my breath away. After our first look it was time for the ceremony.  I’ll never forget the feeling I had walking down the aisle towards my husband to be … I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.  The joy in his face is a moment I’ll remember for the rest of the life. We will always remember having everyone we love most in the world in the same place at the same time.   

Wedding Photography: Shannen Norman Photography / Wedding Venue, Catering + Cupcakes: The Parker Palm Springs in Palm Springs, California / Event Design: The Bride + Groom / Event Planning: Kathy Recchia of Save the Date Events / Floral Design: Kate Holt of Flowerwild / Wedding Dress: Somsi Couture / Hairpieces: Nancy Shefts / Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale, J.Crew, Dessy + Nordstrom / Bridesmaids’ Robes: Plum Pretty Sugar / Hair + Makeup: Neeraja Lockart (Makeup), Michael Strause (Hair) + Jodi Sanger-Weaver (Hair + Makeup) / Groom Suit: Hugo Boss Red Label via Nordstrom / Groom Shoes: Cole Haan / Men’s Ties: Nordstrom / Wedding Cinematography: Jac Cheairs / Wedding Invitations: Brown Printing / Wedding Programs: Ink & Envelopes / Black & White Cookies: Izzy’s Deli / Ceremony Music: Steve Paikai / DJ: DJ Chris Paul / Cake Topper: Jonathan Adler

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 26 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amsale, Blush, Brown's Printing, California, Cole Haan, Dessy, DJ Chris Paul, Flowerwild, Hugo Boss Red Label, Ink & Envelopes, Izzy's Deli, J. Crew, Jac Cheairs, Jimmy Choo, Jodi Sanger-Weaver, Jonathan Adler, Kate Holt, Kathy Recchia, Lavender, Michael Strause, Nancy Shefts, Neeraja Lockart, Nordstrom, Palm Springs, Pink, Plum Pretty Sugar, Purple, Save the Date Events, Shannen Norman Photography, Somsi Couture, Steve Paikai, The Parker Palm Springs, White
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog

From ARTISAN, Event · Floral · Décor, LLC … The Gene Autry Estate located on the grounds of The Parker is where Lauren and Devon had this intimate celebration.  Pink, coral and crisp white created the color palette for their wedding.

One of the highlights of the evening was Lulu their French Bulldog dressed in a pink tutu and walked down the aisle.  Finding her way down the stylized white and pink rose petal walkway bordered with hot pink pomanders was just adorable.  As a surprise for everyone at the wedding, Lauren and Devon were pronounced man and wife the Mariachi’s came out of hiding in the house… talk about fun!

A diamond shape dance floor was the center with family style table surrounding created this intimate setting on the back lawn, with frosted mini globe lights strung over the tables and stylish pink linen fabric boxes varied in size and shape filled with white hydrangea, coral peonies, orange tulips and hot pink ranunculus nestled between tall candle stands with floating white candles creating the landscape down the table.

A stylized Fiesta meets The Parker!

Floral: ARTISAN, Event · Floral · Décor, LLC / Event Coordination: ARTISAN, Event · Floral · Décor, LLC / Photography: Duke Khodaverdin / DJ: James Gonzalez, Eventertainment / Catering: The Parker Palm Springs / Venue: The Parker Palm Springs

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ARTISAN Event Floral Decor, California, Color Palette Pink Coral White, contemporary, Dogs, Duke Khodaverdin, Eventertainment, Modern, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Wedding, Palm Springs, The Parker Palm Springs, Tutus, Vans, Vibrant Color Palette, Wedding Planners & Designers
Post categories: Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog

The wedding design, crafted by two girls that never cease to amaze me, Kelsey at Alison Events and Danielle at Brown Paper Design, just might be the prettiest wedding ever with details that are organically gorgeous and pops of color that scream chic. Max Wanger photographed and as I’ve said more than once on SMP…his work is perfection.

The ceremony took place on the croquet lawn under a large olive tree. Danielle Rowe Zunt of Brown Paper Design added color to the space with a thick carpet of rose pedals down either side of the aisle. White orchids were hung from the tree and puddled on the grass to create a modern backdrop for the ceremony. We wanted to keep the ceremony simple so the only arrangements were two large urns full of bright pink peonies that marked the beginning of the aisle. Lizzie and Matt didn’t have a traditional bridal party of men on one side and women on the other. They chose the important people to them and had those people stand with them without splitting up by gender. They also included their adorable dog Harrison in the ceremony who sported a big pink bow. Lizzie walked down the aisle to a Sufjan Stevens song performed by a banjo player. Lizzie carried an wild bouquet of bright sweet peas, imported fuchsia peonies from New Zealand, and angel grass tied with grosgrain ribbon from France. Lizzie wore a Peter Langer gown. Matt’s boutonniere paired pheasant feathers and euphorbia and was finished with a black and white gingham ribbon. The bridesmaids carried different combinations of white sweetpea, green cigar millet, and white peonies, tied off with wide green satin ribbon.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alison Events, Brown Paper Design, California Weddings, Max Wanger, Palm Springs, The Parker Palm Springs
Post categories: California Weddings, Casual Elegance, Palm Springs Weddings

From Kelsey…Lizzie and Matt were married at The Parker in Palm Springs. They chose the hotel for its funky ambiance and mid century glamour as well as it’s close proximity to Los Angeles where many of their guests were traveling from. It was important to them to have a wedding location that was a laid back, fun gathering place for all their guests to spend the weekend together.

Most people arrived Thursday night greeted with custom a Maptote bag filled with hand-picked personal favorites of the bride and groom, like lobster gummy candy, In and Out Burger notepads, Hadley’s date cookies, and saltwater taffy. The couple kicked off the weekend with cocktail hour around the Parker firepit complete with a s’mores roasting station. They were welcomed to the Parker with a custom Maptote bag filled with hand picked personal favorites of the bride and groom like lobster gummy candy, In and Out Burger notepads, Hadley’s date cookies, and salt water taffy. Friday night all the guests were bussed off property to a local Mexican restaurant, Las Casuelas Nuevas for a low key rehearsal dinner celebration. They chowed down on traditional Mexican fare while the mariachi band serenaded the guests into the evening.

Saturday was the big day. Lizzie and Matt rented out the Gene Autry residence at the Parker as the main gathering area for all wedding party and family members. The front door was adorned with a huge L and M made out of flowers by Brown Paper Design so all the important people knew they had come to the right place. Fiore Beauty out of Los Angeles set up shop inside the residence and had a full blown hair and makeup production line going. Lizzie let her bridesmaids pick out their own dresses from J Crew in any jewel tone of their choosing. The result was a rainbow of girls which fit in perfectly with the eclectic feel of the wedding.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alison Events, Brown Paper Design, California Weddings, Max Wanger, Palm Springs, The Parker Palm Springs
Post categories: California Weddings, Casual Elegance, Palm Springs Weddings

A few more details from the girls at Alison Events…Because The Parker only had availability on Friday night for the wedding, we ended up doing the rehearsal dinner on Saturday, making it an after wedding celebration.  It was honestly such a hit that we are thinking of recommending it to all our destination clients.  It was so nice for everyone to be able to enjoy the day after the wedding and not have to be traveling home.  The party that night was so much more relaxed because everyone already knew each other and all the s tressful stuff had already happened.

We decided to have a Mexican theme on Saturday since we already had purchased so many items that were destination specific.  We brought in Danielle Rowe from Brown Paper Design to do the flowers for both the wedding and rehearsal dinner.  The Parker did an authentic Mexican buffet and we decorated the space with pinata’s, Mexican flags, and serape blankets.  Hello Lucky turned around our menu cards in 2 days which were decorated with Mexican flags as well.

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Everything about this rehearsal/could-be wedding is absolutely perfect. It’s left me floating on cloud nine and completely inspired to seek out other similar fetes.Thanks so much to Alison Hotchkiss and the amazing Jose Villa for sharing this with us!

Coming up next, we are announcing the Smock Thank You Note Giveaway!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alison Hotchkiss, Brown Paper Design, California Weddings, Jose Villa, Palm Springs, Rehearsal Dinner, The Parker Palm Springs
Post categories: Wedding Planners & Designers

And guess what…the  team at Alison Events has been sweet enough to share with us some of the behind the scenes details !

Alisa and Shahraab were scheduled to get married at Esperanza in Cabo this past May.  Unfortunately, their wedding date was right in the thick of the Swine Flu situation.  Because the majority of the bride’s family was traveling from Asia, and China had imposed travel restrictions to Mexico, they were forced to move the wedding state side.  Alison and I basically had 9 days to completely re-plan the wedding.  Items had already been shipped to the importer which had to be rerouted, our florist was in Mexico so had to find someone else, everyone’s flights had to change, etc etc.  You can imagine it was quite a week!  We ended up at The Parker because we have a good relationship with the hotel, Palm Springs is warm, and it worked with Alisa and Shahraab’s modern aesthetic.

I have to say, one girl’s rehearsal dinner is another girl’s wedding. I loooooove the sweet simplicity of the style and can totally envision a perfect wedding inspired by the same look and feel. Thinking a short, flirty wedding dress, simple centerpieces with one big stem tucked inside clear bud vases, a FABULOUS venue and a few ultra-sweet decor touches like colorful menus (these were designed by the lovely Hello! Lucky) and fun salt/pepper shakers.

More to come from this brilliant rehearsal dinner shot by Jose Villa and planned by Alison Hotchkiss!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alison Events, California Weddings, Jose Villa, Palm Springs, The Parker Palm Springs
Post categories: California Weddings, Palm Springs Weddings, Wedding Planners & Designers

This is such a perfect example of something that I preach on SMP…if you find a venue that already has a charm and sense of style about it, you can really cut down on the amount of decor that you bring into the space. The restaurant at the Parker in Palm Springs has fabulous artwork, chairs that are elegant and super chic, and a general ambiance that screams style.

Thanks so much to Alexandra for sharing this with us and to Docuvitae for photographing it to perfection!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alexandra Kolendrianos, California Weddings, Docuvitae, Palm Springs, The Parker, The Parker Palm Springs
Post categories: California Weddings, Contemporary, Palm Springs Weddings

I love, love, love the lounge style ambiance that planner Alexandra Kolendrianos and florist, Keith Laverty created…it suits the chic, glamorous style that the bride was going for with the stunning gown, the black bridesmaids dresses… LOVE!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alexandra Kolendrianos, California Weddings, Keith Laverty, Palm Springs, The Parker, The Parker Palm Springs
Post categories: Contemporary