I want to become a society lady Rockin' a new rock?!

Stephanie and Dave hail from New York City, but with family all over the country, they knew no matter what, there would be plenty of travel for their wedding, so they opted for a destination wedding in Palm Desert. The pair hosted a golf tournament, Fiesta welcome dinner, wedding, and brunch, all at La Quinta Resort! With plenty of time poolside too, I can’t imagine a more fun and festive weekend with those you love. This couple is so dang gorgeous, and all the more so thanks to images by Michael Radford. Are you ready for this? We are obsessed with the design by Artisan Events and know are you are going to love!

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What made the wedding special and unique?

Although we both have worked and lived in New York City since college, Dave is originally from the East Coast and I’m from Los Angeles so, no matter what, a lot of our guests were going to have to travel. For this reason we decided to have a destination wedding. We chose La Quinta Resort and Spa in Palm Desert because my family had been vacationing there for years and we had both been together there before and enjoyed it. A large majority of guests made a long weekend out of it and we hosted a golf tournament, Mexican Fiesta welcome dinner/rehearsal (which Michael Radford took photos of as well) and a farewell brunch all at La Quinta Resort. The casitas at La Quinta Resort were great and we took over a whole section of the resort so everyone gathered all day at the pool. It was all about family, friends and spending quality time together.

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Tell us about the dress and where/how you found it!

Originally I was hoping to wear my grandmother’s dress as both Dave and I are very sentimental but after a dry cleaning snafu and major shrinkage, I set out to find something really special and unique. I knew I didn’t want to be a cupcake bride. A number of people kept recommending Elizabeth Fillmore to me and when I went with my sister, and maid of honor, to Saks Fifth Ave. in New York City I tried on a few of her designs and loved them. I tend to wait sometimes until the last minute with big decisions and after my sister returned to Los Angeles I dropped the ball. My sister followed up with me a few months later and I looked at Saks Fifth Ave. again and they were having an Elizabeth Fillmore trunk show two days later, I decided it was a sign! I got the last slot of the day and was lucky enough to get to spend quality with Elizabeth Fillmore who is absolutely wonderful and we narrowed my selection down to two of her dresses, but in the end ‘Jewel,’ my dress, was the one. I can’t tell you enough how lovely Elizabeth Fillmore was, we even FaceTimed my mother during the fitting so she could be a part of it!

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What were some touches added to make it personal?

We wanted the wedding weekend to reflect how we are as a couple, and Dave and I both love to host get-togethers in NYC and we felt our wedding should demonstrate that hospitality. We wanted to make sure our guests would enjoy the weekend and just relax and enjoy all the great company and surroundings. My favorite color is orange and the wedding took place in an orange and citrus grove on the property and that lead us to using oranges as a detail in all the beautiful floral arrangements by Artisan Events. Artisan Events also served as wedding coordinators, and were responsible for all events during the whole wedding weekend affair. Also, we originally had planned for our one-year old German shepherd lab mix puppy to join in the wedding ceremony, but in the end had to leave him behind with his trainer. However, Dave surprised me with a life-size, cutout photo of the puppy so he was there in spirit and found a place on the stage at the reception. When everyone was dancing like crazy on the dance floor the band picked up the mock-up of our dog and was dancing with it, super fun!

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What was the most memorable part of the day?

When I decided to have an outdoor ceremony in Palm Desert I was happy because I knew that weather was one thing we would not have to worry about… who would have guessed that the wind could pick up so dramatically! We had one of our closest friends from college, Adam, marry us and as part of the ceremony we had our two sets of parents lighting candles they would hand to us to light a new candle together. Unfortunately the wind picked up right then and despite many attempts by our parents and us to get the candles lighted we realized that it wasn’t going to happen! It actually ended up being a magical moment with some quick-witted commentary from Adam and both families coming together to block the wind and work together to at least try and get the main candle lit! Everyone was laughing and it was special how we all came together.

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Want to hear about how they became engaged? Check out their engagement feature on Grey Likes!

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Vendors: Photography: Michael Radford // Venue: La Quinta Resort // Event Design/Florals: Artisan Events // Make-Up: Samantha Salk // Hair: Helena Van Zandbergan // Dress: “Jewel” by Elizabeth Fillmore // Shoes: Christian Louboutin // Letterpress Stationery: Black Ink of Pacific Palisades