Desert Wedding in Joshua Tree and the Ace Hotel

Desert Wedding in Joshua Tree and the Ace Hotel

This wedding, like so many others, was several years in the making. I know this is the story from almost everyone that's gotten married over the past two years, but the pandemic really messed with Chara and Peter's plans for their wedding. I believe the actual date of their wedding was their third date and finally they decided to cut the guest list WAY back and just have their closest family and friends there to help them celebrate. It was absolutely perfect. The entire weekend is one of my favorite shindigs to date. Not only because I had complete creative freedom but because Chara and Peter's people took me in and treated me as one of their own the entire time. That in itself is so significant and really makes it easier for me to work. I can not thank them enough for their kindness and love they showered me with. Especially when there was a portion of travel time that I didn't even know if I was going to make it.

Travel the past few months has been a bit... difficult. My first flight out of Louisville to head to Palm Springs was cancelled, and then I was told there wasn't another flight until SATURDAY. So I did what any experienced destination photographer would do and 1. prepared myself to possibly have to drive to California or 2. Drive a few hours to a nearby airport to catch a different flight. Thankfully, I was able to get a flight out of Nashville the following morning at 5am, but that meant sleeping in my car at the Nashville airport. And honestly this is part of the destination life that no one likes to mention. It can be really hard sometimes and can definitely mean you are doing things you wouldn't necessarily like to do. This is why, if you're a photographer (or other vendor), you need to schedule in an extra day or two for travel. Especially right now. It's so important to have backup plans when it comes to this so you don't end up massively disappointing people you work with.

I also did photography AND videography the entire day, alone as Olivia had a bachelorette party that weekend. It was an adventure in my skill and I'm so proud of everything we created together. The video featured in the post is just their teaser as I don't have their Super 8 film back quite yet.

Vendor Credits

Planners/Coordination: Grace and Gold Events | Florals: Desert Rose Creatives | Venue(s): Joshua Tree National Park & The Palm Springs Ace Hotel | Wedding Dress: Daughters of Simone | Paper and Sign Designs: Peter (Groom) | HMUA : Chara (Bride) | Vintage Car: Palm Springs Classic Cars