La Quinta Resort Wedding from Candice Benjamin Photography
It all started with a trip to Palm Springs to visit family. That's exactly when this stunning Canadian duo fell madly in love with the breathtaking landscape of The Golden State. And after they were engaged on a hike overlooking their adopted city, it only made sense that they also tied the knot in the land of sunshine and gorgeous weddings. Which, with the help of a devoted Mom and CCL Weddings, is exactly what they did... throw a magical (+ classic) soiree that will seriously take your breath away. See every beautiful moment captured by Candice Benjamin in the full gallery.
From the Bride... Early in our relationship, we took a trip to Palm Springs, California to visit my parents. We instantly fell in love with the warm weather, sunshine, hiking and, most of all, the golfing! Many trips later, we were engaged in Palm Springs on a hike overlooking the city. It is a place that means so much to us, we knew we wanted to share it with our friends and family. The night of our engagement we had dinner at the Waldorf Astoria La Quinta Hotel. As we drove in the grand entrance with the lights hanging between the palm trees, we decided then and there that we would be married in California.
Two days before the wedding we did our engagement photos at the same hiking spot where he proposed. We live in Canada, so we had not yet had a chance to work with our photographer. So we had a ton of fun dressing up in contrast to the desert landscape, while getting warmed up for our wedding photos.
Because we lived so far from our destination, we relied a lot on my mother and wedding coordinator (Catherine Cindy Leo) to make sure it all came together. My mom found our photographer, florist, caterer, DJ, and almost everything else. We couldn't have done it without her help! For the theme, we decided on a classic feel and chose white, blush pink, and grey as our wedding colors, so as not to compete with the vibrant setting of the venue. The mercury glass candle sticks and vases, on top of white linen table runners, and white flowers with dusty miller accents were perfection. Our wedding invitations were done as a gift from a family friend, and the programs were a DIY project I tackled. We kept the same calligraphy (Hillary Featherletter) for the invitations, escort cards, and other details, to create a unified feel even though our stationery came from different vendors. One of my favorites pieces was our hand-painted sign from Julie Song for the donation we made to the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of my father who passed away.
The dessert table buffet was a huge hit with our guests, as it featured red velvet and carrot cake pops, mini apple pies, as well as our favorite desserts and candy growing up. There wasn't a single chocolate chip cookie left at the end of the night. But the highlight of our night was the Same Day Edit. We had a videographer film us that day and then play the highlights that evening at the reception as a surprise for all our guests.
My advice to future brides is to decide what elements of the wedding are a must-have, and then compromise on the rest. Its easy to get caught up in thinking that everything is as important as the next, but having a clear idea of what is truly important to you will keep you happy throughout the process. We knew we wanted a Same Day Edit, so we spent a larger portion of our budget on the videographer, and then compromised by spending less on the invitations.
Wedding Photography: Candice Benjamin Photography | Wedding Venue: : La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California | Event Planning + Design: Catherine Cindy Leo from CCL Weddings | Officiant: Sallie Albertine | Wedding Cinematography: studio205films | Floral Design: David Rohr of The David Rohr Floral Studio | Wedding Cake: Sweet & Saucy | Wedding Invitations: DIY | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Calligraphy: Feather Letter