Hey! I just got back to Minnesota late last night after a rather spur-of-the-moment trip to Florida. Paul has some exciting developments at work going on right now that we needed to attend to, which involved spending a few days in Naples, which is weirdly a lot like LA.
In other news, I had today’s essay all ready to go, then I read it one more time in the car on the way to the airport, and decided it had to go back for another round of edits. But! We got all our wedding photos back from the stunningly talented Catalina Jean last Friday, and I couldn’t wait to show you!!! So, there’s an essay coming your way next week, and a wedding photo dump today. Enjoy!! x
We got married on December 9th at the O’Donnell House in Palm Springs. We heard through a friend of a friend that the owners of Soho House bought it recently, and they are no longer doing weddings here?! And that we may have been one of the last????!!
The inside of the O’Donnell House, which was built in 1925. That’s Mr. O’Donnell there on the wall.
Part of our “first look.” I didn’t really want to do one (with the tap on the shoulder and turn around thing), but then it was happening so I just went with it. My bouquet looks especially good here.
A moment for my something blue–and yes, I matched my toes to my shoes ;)
One of my favorite pictures of us to ever exist. This is exactly how I wanted to look at my wedding, and neither of us are making a weird face :)
We took photos just the two of us for almost an hour before people started to arrive at the venue. We both hate being photographed and Paul was having a hard time with it because he was so anxious about his vows (which he finished that morning! LOL) but I think some of these photos actually turned out so great.
A moment for the slit!! There was nothing to be done about this, but my second favorite part of my dress (this unexpected, daring slit in the front that goes alllll the way up) barely shows in any of the photos. Some wind caught my dress here, and voila.
Took a bit of a risk here climbing into the dirt in heels with my long white train, but #worthit.
This is sweet, and I really look full #springcourt
A moment for the train in all of its glory. Thankfully I took out every layer of tulle underneath my dress in alterations or I legitimately wouldn’t have been able to move around.
The sunset vibes were A+.
Our wedding had a space/planets theme, so I decided that our heat lamps looked like little flying saucers. Now I can’t unsee it. And I’m not at all mad.
Okay I’m not going to lie – most of the floral arrangements my friends and I made the day before the wedding got kind of messed up when they were transported to the venue. I didn’t really see it until later when I was reviewing photos, but they all look kind of different than when they went into the boxes; just a bit more haphazard, like they got a little smushed. Part of me is super bummed by this because they all looked SO good the day before. But this is why you hire professionals, and I didn’t do that, so. Here we are.
I still think the tables looked nice, though. Especially for being extremely low-budget. Paul made the planet signs and my parents printed them!
Is this a Pinterest-worthy place setting? Not really. But I thought it looked nice, even through the rental company delivered the wrong napkins :)
This is one of the most stunning ceremony locations I have ever seen, period. This is the entire backyard of the O’Donnell House. I’m still in awe and can’t believe we got to get married here.
Big believers in sparkling rosé during the ceremony.
I won’t give you too many details about our ceremony, but we had friends and family do some readings. It was perfect.
Are you kidding me???????? My nephews stole the show as the flower boys.
***Heart explodes***
I didn’t fall down the stairs, and absolutely nailed my musical cue. I made it to Paul at exactly the moment my song ended. She’s still a theater kid at heart!
Words cannot express how much I love this photo of me and my dad hugging before I walked down the aisle by myself, after my parents.
My mom almost went down the aisle with my bouquet, but I caught it just in time :)
I mean. What else is there to say.
I wore my mom’s diamond earrings as my something borrowed, and this wavy pearl necklace was my something new. My something old was my great grandmother’s necklace, which I wore to our welcome party the night before the wedding.
Our friend David gave a speech about the cosmic nature of love and absolutely nailed it. I told him my favorite movie is Interstellar, and he understood the assignment.
I bought us matching books from Target to write our vows in about a week before the wedding because I knew my hands would shake. When I got up to the front, my right leg was shaking non-stop for about five minutes.
I loveeeee seeing reaction shots from our friends as we read our vows. Priceless.
My dad and Paul’s mom made floral necklaces the morning of the wedding and put them on us after we read our vows as a “welcome to the family” moment. It was very sweet.
😭
Neither of us really remember this part!
The adrenaline kept me warm during our ceremony, but it wore off immediately after, and I was feeling frosty. I don’t remember Paul giving me his jacket, but here’s the evidence.
Big ups to my family for the A+ color coordination!
My sister asked if she could wear this dress, and I told her I would be mad if she didn’t–I had almost bought the exact same one for our welcome party 👯♂️💃🏼
Truly the best view in all of Palm Springs.
The sunset really delivered during cocktail hour.
We spent almost all of cocktail hour actually drinking, eating, and talking to everyone. Even 40 minutes felt too short!
Obsessed with the string lights; they came with the venue. Also obsessed with our reception area on the side of the house, and our friends and family.
Might get this printed and put it in our house somewhere.
A moment for my hair! I did it myself and was a little insecure seeing it in some of our photos. But I love how it looks here.
Truly felt so much better after reading my vows. I hadn’t really done any public speaking in years and I was nervous. But after, I’m grinning from ear to ear.
My dad gave the best speech of the night. What a guy.
I didn’t plan this at all, but I was cold at dinner, so I put on my burgundy leather jacket that I’ve had for almost a decade and just happened to bring on our trip. I think it actually looks sick and I can’t believe I didn’t plan on a jacket for my dress at dinner! Very unlike me!
Shout out to our DJ for playing on vinyl. Cool.
A moment of appreciation for all of our friends and family who not only came out to Palm Springs for our wedding, but looked AMAZING. We clean up nice!!!
Another string light appreciation photo. So good I had to show them to you twice.
We got cupcakes and a small cake for dessert. I ordered a funfetti cake with no decorations (which was under $100) and then MY SISTER decorated it with leftovers from our floral arrangements. Are you kidding?! Looks professional.
Speaking of my sister, her speech was basically The Newlywed Game and it was hilarious.
I mean. This is a yes.
Are you ready for a surprise? This is possibly my favorite photo of the entire night. We’re totally relaxed and fucking around with our cake, like apparently I’m feeding Paul a piece I grabbed with my fingers? We look like us.
Paul and I both went upstairs for a wardrobe change after dessert, then came running onto the dance floor to kick off the dance party.
This is one of my other favorite photos of the night. Can you see how happy my brother-in-law is?! We’re all having the time of our lives and I look like a human disco ball. 10/10 would do again.
We danced for two more hours, but this is where our photos end. Happy, happy, happy.
Thanks for coming along on this journey through our wedding. See you next week. x
The happiest photos! Wishing you both so many years of love and beautiful memories.
Best part…you and Paul looked SO HAPPY! I predict a wonderful marriage!