1. Real Weddings

A Bright Spanish-Inspired Wedding at the O'Donnell House in Palm Springs, California

For their wedding at the O'Donnell House in Palm Springs, Heidi and Michael filled the day with Spanish-inspired touches, from a vibrant coral, aqua a

For their wedding at the O'Donnell House in Palm Springs, Heidi and Michael filled the day with Spanish-inspired touches, from a vibrant coral, aqua and golden yellow color palette to post card escort cards and a menu featuring Spanish specialties like Paella and stuffed piquillo peppers.

Each of the groomsmen wore a succulent boutonniere accented with small red flowers and dark greenery.
In addition to passed hors d'oeuvres at cocktail hour, which included chorizo meatballs, stuffed piquillo peppers and grilled shrimp, Heidi and Michael had a charcuterie table with whole jamon serano on the stand, assorted Spanish meats, marcona almonds, olives, Spanish cheeses, bread and veggies.
The reception took place outdoors looking out onto the surrounding desert landscape.
Michael always wears funky socks, says Heidi. And their wedding day was no different. Michael paired his beige suede oxfords with red, white and blue printed socks.
Michael had his jeweler custom design Heidi's engagement ring, a platinum pave diamond stunner with a rose gold diamond setting and a 3 carat oval center stone. The couple also had their wedding bands custom designed, a rose gold diamond band to complement Heidi's engagement ring and a simple brushed gold band for Michael.
To give their guests a taste of the wedding's Spanish theme, Heidi and Michael opted for laser cut invitations in aqua, coral and gold. Vintage desert stamps, which they found on Ebay, were the perfect finishing touch.
The wedding cake alternated between layers of lemon chiffon cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla buttercream and red velvet cake with fresh strawberries.
Heidi's bridal bouquet was filled with bright colors and lots of texture. Gloriosa lilies, scabiosas and cockscomb added an unexpected twist.
To add depth to the tables, Heidi and Michael layered colorful floral table runners on top of the classic white linens.
The newlyweds and their guests danced late into the night to an upbeat mix of Latin, dance, oldies and eighties music.
Alison Haag designed the escort cards with Heidi and Michael's favorite Spanish cities in mind. She created custom postcards with photos of Spain on one side, which were also the names of the tables, and thank you notes for each guest on the back.
The bridesmaids wore mint colored empire waist dresses with a high-low hemline and spaghetti straps.
Victoria style lanterns filled with ivory pillar candles were placed at each end of the aisle.
We had chosen John Legen's 'All of Me' for our first dance song. But when the time came for the first dance, the DJ played the Gypsy King’s 'Bamboleo' as a very long intro which really became our first dance, says Heidi. We hesitated at first, but then just went with it. Eventually he got around to 'All of Me' after a couple minutes of us showing our moves. Guests told us the happy accident was one of their favorite parts!
The back lawn of the O'Donnell House, where the ceremony took place, offered sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and desert landscape.
For a bit of glitz, Heidi wore a pair of crystal Jimmy Choo sandals.
A welcome table was set up at the entrance to the ceremony, where guests could fill up small organza bags with fresh cut lavender (for love), salt (for abundance) and rice (for fertility) to toss in celebration at the close of the ceremony,
Bright arrangements of roses, dahlias, peonies, scabiosas and ranunculuses added a fresh pop of color to the reception decor.