Weddings of the Year

Leave it to two Coachella Valley natives to choose one of the hippest spots in town to celebrate their young love.

Danielle Lanier & Derek Flor
Ace Hotel & Swim Club
October 21, 2011
Photography by Max and Poppy

Leave it to two Coachella Valley natives to choose one of the hippest spots in town to celebrate their young love. The two travel buffs did their share of world exploration before meeting up in Southern California and getting engaged. After discovering the Ace Hotel & Swim Club during the its Valentine’s Day Doo Wop in the Desert dance party, Danielle and Derek, as she says, “fell in love” — with the venue, that is. They filled their big night with their own dance off under the spinning disco ball. “We told everyone if they wanted to talk to us, we’d be on the dance floor,” Danielle says. Their travel-themed wedding wowed 190 guests, who also fell for the property and expressed their desire to return. Danielle coordinated the DIY décor, including her flowers, while graphic designer Derek created the invitations and programs, complete with a custom “logo.” After hanging out in the desert with friends and family, the couple jetted off for an Australian honeymoon.

With grandparents who honeymooned in Palm Springs in 1956, James found it romantic and fitting to propose to Karena on a hike through La Quinta’s Santa Rosa Mountains. The couple from Vancouver, B.C., had loved the area since they were children. Each family had kept tradition with an annual visit for golf, sunshine, and relaxation — a welcome escape from Canada’s brisk winters. Exactly a year after that hike, the families came together to see Karena and James walk up the aisle as husband and wife. “Our guests flew in from literally around the world,” Karena says. “It was a multigenerational, cross-cultural celebration spanning a full weekend of sun and good times.” The groom’s parents own a home in neighboring PGA West, so a wedding weekend at the classic La Quinta Resort & Club seemed a natural choice. Regarding the desert as a lifelong home away from home, Karena and James felt at ease tooling around the grounds in a golf cart. “We could not have imagined being married anywhere else.”

Former neighbors from the same apartment building in Pasadena, Stacie and Paul chocked their Viceroy Palm Springs wedding and after party with L.A. glam, starting with a modern scheme of black, white, and hot pink. On a weekend getaway to the desert, the couple met up on the fly with Joey Lizotte of Artisan Event • Floral • Décor. When the trio hit it off at this stylish historic boutique hotel, Joey set to work on floral design and major planning for a wedding that quickly landed a coveted feature on the Style Me Pretty wedding blog. “We hung a trio of Artisan white crystal chandeliers over the long, family tables covered in pink peonies, hot pink hydrangea, Esther roses, and candle stands with floating candles,” Lizotte says. Hot pink organza drapes created a dramatic entrance to the courtyard, while the private Presidio made a chic setting for dining under the stars. No traditionalists, the newlyweds sported sunglasses to kick off the night and their first dance with a tune by Black Eyed Peas. In minutes, family and friends were on their feet to surround them.