Even though San Diego is an incredible location for a wedding, some San Diegans actually seek awesome spots elsewhere to tie the knot.  Our friends Laura and CK chose the legendary Riviera Palm Springs Resort & Spa for their destination ceremony and reception. This stylish venue features ultra-contemporary decor, pool-side cabanas, and garden villas.

While we were shooting, we took full advantage of the modern textures, chic decor and luxurious atmosphere of the resort. You can really see these details and the venue’s color palate come alive in the wedding images. Of course, photographing such a beautiful and energetic couple made the photos all the more eye-catching! The weather was absolutely perfect, and as Laura stated, “for a two hour drive, it feels like you are a million miles away on vacation”.

Take a minute to read what Laura had to say about Palm Springs, their wedding colors, details from the ceremony, and a bit of her own advice for brides-to-be!

We chose to have our wedding at The Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs because of the absolutely perfect weather in the desert in April.  We wanted to make our wedding a weekend long event, and be able to have all of our guests hang out together outside by the pool and enjoy themselves for a few days, rather than just the wedding day. This is a boutique hotel, so it was a great size for our 110 guest count. It allowed us to interact with all of our guests during the days leading up to our wedding.

We used the colors champagne, white and blush pink to give a classic, simple and natural feel.  Our flowers were elegant, and were very dramatic in the context of a natural garden setting.

We wanted our wedding to be romantic but modern, clean, and not too overdone. We wanted to incorporate the outdoors with flowers and sunshine into our ceremony, and carry that element indoors (with a modern twist) for our reception.  We wanted our guests to feel comfortable, yet chic and classy to allow for a beautiful wedding in a fun atmosphere.

My most memorable moment from our wedding day was when I stepped around the corner to enter our ceremony. I held my Dad’s arm and felt like I was floating off of the ground.  The sight of our ceremony was just heavenly! Sunlight was just beginning to set, and the sun was streaming between the trees and mountains. Between the soft sounds of our acoustic guitarist playing a sweet song, the flower petals scattered on the aisle, and the flowy white fabric on our altar just softly blowing in the breeze, it was like a dream. I could have floated down the aisle as I saw my groom waiting for me at the end with a huge smile.

I have so so so so many favorite pictures from the day, but this is definitely one of my favorites. It captures our happiness right after the ceremony and is just full of love.  It is so artistic with the sun shining through the back and the low angle.  It is absolutely beautiful.

I can not say enough wonderful things about True Photography for making our wedding photography experience absolutely perfect! We were so excited to get to work with Aaron and Michael. It was an absolute pleasure. They are extremely professional, and have such great talent and personality. I appreciated all of their communication with me leading up to our event to create a customized fabulous day. I greatly enjoyed working with them, and would absolutely recommend them to any bride!

A TIP FROM OUR BRIDE:
As cliché as it is, and as many times as you hear it, the honest truth from a brand new bride that just went through it is….the day truly and honestly goes by in the blink of an eye. All of your hard work and energy and planning and love going into that day all comes together before your eyes and it is amazingly overwhelming – in a great way!  Take a few moments to step back and look at everything. You will only have a few chances to reflect with everything going on, so really soak each moment in.  This, along with your wonderful photographs, will be the only memories you will have. So cherish and hold onto them for a lifetime.

Photographer: True Photography