As a true creative talent, it’s no big surprise this product designer-turned-bride planned a day that easily claims a spot on our “LOVE” list. Along with the help of friend and fellow creative Oak And Owl, she spent her wedding planning days scouring flea markets and thrift shops (not to mention to trips to India!) for just the right pieces to bring the design vision to life. Lane Dittoe didn’t miss a beat, and you can see all the pretty results in the gallery right here.
From The Bride…Our relationship grew slowly; first date in August, second date in September, third date in October with the time in between filled with phone conversations, international Skype calls and emails. Early October we were walking in Del Mar and stopped to watch a small wedding taking place on the beach. It was a perfect California October day, warm and dry with long shadows and we both agreed – even without fully knowing that one day we would marry – that October was our favorite month and would be the perfect month to have a wedding.
Two years later Kjell proposed with his Norwegian great-grandmothers engagement ring after acceding by helicopter atop Tower Butte in Arizona, just before a 10-day long house boat trip on Lake Powell. We spend much of our leisure time in the desert and felt that it would be appropriate to celebrate our wedding in our favorite climate. We were drawn to Palm Springs as a destination, close enough for most of our guests to travel to easily yet far enough away to keep it special. I have designed gift and home décor product for HomArt for nearly 14 years and a close relationship with the owners of HomArt introduced us to John O’neil and Ed Smith, the owners of Casa De Los Arcos. John designed the home as a pièce de résistance to his architecture career and together they christened the home Casa De Los Arcos paying homage to the 84 arches throughout the home. The moment Kjell and I walked through the front gate of the property we knew that this home had all of the warmth, light and extraordinary details of the place we would want to celebrate our wedding day.
Nancy and I were grade school friends and in our adult years often talked of a collaboration of my product design and her floral design, from the moment I said “yes” to Kjell I knew that Nancy and I would finally have our first collaboration. Nancy’s knowledge and respect in the industry opened up connections for us to put together a talented team – Lane Dittoe for photography, Amy Clarke for hair and makeup and Signature Party for rentals. Partnering with Nancy on the event design was a great pairing between the two of us, sharing a similar design aesthetic and appreciation for the beautiful venue we wanted to compliment the arid setting with tillandsias and succulents while softening it with garden roses and greenery and warming up the whole palate with brass accents.
Over the course of 8 months Nancy and I scoured flea markets, thrift shops and online sources for vintage brass candlesticks and vessels. Two trips to India found me coming home with a second suitcase full of brass, both times given to me from Indian business contacts as a wedding gift. Having not found the perfect footed brass compotes that I had envisioned, Kjell welded smaller scaled brass candlesticks onto the bottoms of some of the brass bowls to give the added height we desired for Nancy’s reaching centerpiece arrangements. Since I live and breathe design on a daily basis it was engrained in me to design our own monogram and invitation suite and of course utilize HomArt product into the design of the day, from picture frames framing the bar signage to one of a kind furniture pieces from HomArt’s FOUND Collection to cast brass feathers on each guests place setting.
On the wedding day our guests arrived to Casa De Los Arcos via shuttle from the nearby Alcazar Hotel, which we had blocked for our guests for the wedding weekend. On a warmer than anticipated Palm Springs day our guests sipped champagne and infused waters in the air-conditioned home or under the misters on the patio before taking their seat on one of the lawns which flanks the pool in the backyard of the residence. Lead by the entourage of 4 nephews and a niece proudly taking on the roll of ring bearers, sign carriers and flower girl our bridal party (my sister and sister-in-law and Kjell’s best childhood friends) stood proudly next to us underneath the pergola as we exchanged vows in front of 99 of our close friends, family members and colleagues. During the cocktail reception Lane Dittoe captured Kjell and I in the “magic hour” light just as the sun was falling behind the San Jacinto mountains. Kjell and I both agreed that we don’t think that we had ever smiled so much for so long in our life, we were truly floating and it was so comfortable to be in front of Lane’s camera.
The lawns of Casa De Los Arcos provided a perfect layout for a double kings table to stretch down with the desert mountains as a backdrop. We dined under the stars on a locally and sustainably sourced meal cooked on site by the Foundation 10 Catering team. Wine flowed, toasts streamed and music floated through the air on our perfect Palm Springs October evening. While we encouraged coat & tie and “fancy dress” there were several details of the day that we chose to keep casual and perhaps non-traditional; the bridal party wore their own black suits and dresses, a ukulele played some of our favorite songs acoustically during the ceremony, we drank out of stem-less wine glasses and, salads and side dishes were served family style, all to encourage sharing and conversation and allow our guests to feel at home at Casa De Los Arcos.
Photography: lane Dittoe fine art wedding photographs | Coordination: The Walk Down The Aisle | Floral Design: Oak And The Owl | Cake: Extraordinary Desserts | Catering: Cheeky's | Hair And Makeup: Amy Clarke | Grooms Suit: Vera Wang | Ceremony Music: Jillian Bordeaux | Venue: Casa De Los Arcos | Palm Springs, CA | Custom Feather Brooch: The White Dress | Bride Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Brides Dress: Reem Acra | Decor : Brides Own Design | Event Design & Coordination: Oak And The Owl | Film Processing: Goodman Film Lab | Letterpress: The Aesthetic Union | Paper Goods: Brides Own Design | Photo Assistant: Jon CU | Reception Music: Kam Fook Restaurant | Rentals: Signature Party Rentals | Suite Photographed: Chris Bliss