Erin + Steven // A Whimsical Palm Springs Parker Hotel Wedding

This wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty.

Let’s just say that when Samantha and I showed up to Gene Autry house at the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs to shoot Erin and Steven’s wedding… there was no shortage of oohing, aahing, and girly squealing. As I mentioned yesterday, we both are head over heels in love with mid-century design and color, so not only was simply being in Palm Springs a dream, but getting to shoot a wedding like this one, well… we couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Erin stole my heart from the very first email she sent me last summer. We hit it off immediately, connecting over our mutual love for Chick-fil-a, sweet tea, CoverGirl lip stain, our dogs, and our Southern roots. She’s a Texas girl through and through, and when she told me that she had been complaining endlessly to Steven about photographers with “Vintage Dom Perignon pricing for 2-day-old Lone Star Light shots” and was so glad to have found me, I was sold. ;) To get to photograph an incredibly hip California wedding is one thing, but to hear “Chicken Fried” playing while you’re eating ribs and mac ‘n cheese at said wedding is pretty much perfection. (I think I may have startled Sam with just how many lyrics I knew to the country songs that were played, but what can I say? I’m an Alabama wedding photographer. :) )

Between the unbelievable amount of DIY, eco-friendly, oh-so-chic-ly executed details and decor, to the ridiculously cool and intimate setting of the Gene Autry house on the property of the Parker (once owned and lived in by the Singing Cowboy himself, and designed by my FAVE Jonathan Adler), to the kindness and hospitality of everyone involved in this wedding…. well, my camera could barely handle all the beauty. But I’m hoping these photos will do the weekend just a small amount of justice.

Can I just go ahead and move in? Pretty please?

Erin did an incredible job DIY-ing their invitation suite. She told me she was worried it would look too much like a Hobby Lobby craft project, but I never would’ve been able to tell she had designed and assembled them without professional help. I love the charcoal gray and lime color scheme, the incorporation of the Parker logo, and the scratch-off save the dates (penny included!). You may not be surprised to learn that Erin recently launched her own event planning and branding company, EMC Squared. She’s got the talent for it, no doubt!

I loved that Erin and Steven’s pups, Dexter and Junior, were hanging out at the house all weekend. Junior was a little terrified of my camera, but I like to think he warmed up to me by the time it was all said and done. ;)

When I was chatting with Erin about where we should do their first look, she mentioned one spot in particular where she had imagined she would be standing behind Steven, wrapped in sunlight and looking all angelic. But then she was like, “Oh, never mind, who am I kidding? It’s ME!” Well, if this isn’t angelic looking, I don’t know what is…. :)

Fun bridal party? YES.

This may go down as one of my favorite wedding day memories. One of Erin and Steven’s friends was walking around all day in a Speedo, which was pretty hilarious as it was. But then, right before the ceremony, he put on a jacket and tie, and dress socks and shoes, but no pants. Yes, friends, he attended the wedding in his Speedo. As my friend Kelly put it when I told her about it, “California knows how to party.” :)

I think Erin may secretly be an Olsen sister. STUN-NING.

I am completely obsessed with this wall in front of the hotel, and I’m determined that somehow I’m going to make it happen at my house someday.

I love it when even a tattooed, manly military man gets a little teary-eyed when his bride comes down the aisle. :)

I mean, COULD this be more gorgeous? Nuh-uh.

Erin’s father works for Blue Bell ice cream back in Texas, and they shipped some in especially for the wedding. It’s one of those things I completely take for granted, since we have every flavor imaginable here in Alabama (my new favorite? strawberry banana shortcake). But watching all of the Californians try it for the first time was pretty awesome. They were very impressed. :)

The next morning, Sam and I came back to the house to shoot their goodbye brunch, and I couldn’t resist including a few shots. This is what Palm Springs is all about.

Erin and Steven, I can’t thank you enough for inviting us into your lives to capture such a ridiculously fun weekend.

Also, I have to give a huge shout out to my sidekick, second shooter, and dear friend Sam Kanzler for all of her help (and for capturing some of the photos above), the staff at the Parker for all their help and hard work, Jeanette Collins for coordinating, Alison Franchi and her team at Le Petite Gardenia for the beyond stunning florals, Jane Kim for her makeup artistry, Rebekah Ryan for lovely hair, and Larry Graham for being one of the best DJs I’ve heard at a wedding. It was a great team!