Kendall + Sam's 70's Gucci Goes to the Desert Wedding

palm springs wedding invitation with florals

outdoor wedding reception at Palm springs

Kendall + Sam fell in love with Palm Springs and were married in a gorgeous outdoor celebration surrounded by the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. The wedding invitations reflected their love of the desert without being typical. The square invitations featured an elegant font Kendall selected bordered in botanical illustrations of local flora including golden brittlebrush, ruby globemallow, thistle, and prairie clover. The enclosure card that invited guests on a hike in Joshua Tree National Park featured the joshua tree, a beloved symbol of survival and resilience. Wedding day photography by Roger Ellsworth. Stationery photos by Poeme.

Tell us a little about you and Sam.

Sam and I both work in the startup world and met while living in New York. A year later in the fall of 2020 we decided to take advantage of remote work and explore a new part of the country - we put everything in storage and drove out to Palm Springs. While there we really fell in love with the desert, and when we got engaged in early 2021 we knew that was “the” place.

Tell us about your wedding vision.

Luckily Sam and I came together pretty quickly on a shared vision for the wedding. The best way to describe it would be “70’s Gucci goes to the desert.” Classic, effortless, jewel tones - as if your rich aunt in Rome was hosting a dinner party on her terrace. It was important that we didn’t lean too hard into the southwest tropes, and that was also a guiding principle for our wedding stationery. There was a bigger emphasis on desert flora broadly, taking cues from scientific botanical prints for the design of the invites. I then found a serif font (Kousis) that felt unique and organic, and after that the most important thing was that the stationery was personal. Which is exactly why we wanted to work with Poeme because we knew it could be a creative and collaborative process, not a drag and drop online experience.

palm springs wedding invitations — Stationery Vision

It was important that we didn’t lean too hard into the southwest tropes, and that was also a guiding principle for our wedding stationery. There was a bigger emphasis on desert flora broadly, taking cues from scientific botanical prints for the design of the invites.

Tell us about planning a wedding during Covid.

Planning and holding a wedding during Covid was a stressful experience, as any couple can attest to, but when the day finally came everything truly went perfectly. It was a warm, cloud-free day, and we had an amazing group of friends and family with us, which was the most important part. With everything the last two years, it was the first time Sam or I were meeting some of each other’s friends in person, which was really fun. And in your mid-30’s it’s less frequent that you have all of your friends in one place, so I think we tried hard to really soak it all in.

Why was The O’Donnell House the perfect setting?

The venue was up on the hillside overlooking Palm Springs, so guests arrived by riding golf carts up a long driveway, which I think was a fun reveal. The O’Donnell House is really one of a kind, it was first built as a private residence in the 1930’s in Spanish mission style, with bougainvilleas that bloom year round and a large stone terrace where the reception is held. The views are amazing looking out across the Coachella valley, and you can really let the beauty of the location speak for itself (no need for a lot of decor). Sam built a copper chuppah for the ceremony, which was draped in a mix of peonies, ranunculus, proteas, roses, and eucalyptus - similar to the centerpieces. The ceremony itself took place a little before sunset, and was officiated by our friend Gabriel, which made it feel really personal. We asked both of our moms to speak, to pay respect to their Protestant and Jewish backgrounds, and we were joined up front by my sister and Sam’s brother. Sam and I chose to write our own vows, and I think we both made each other cry at that point. Oh, and I surprised Sam after our first dance by serenading him with a Stevie Wonder song, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” which was a little terrifying but worth it because I knew he would never expect it.

What details were most important for you both?

We chose a guitarist for the ceremony and cocktail hour, and for the processional he played a cover of a Philip Glass song, which sounded amazing. I was also excited about our DJ’s Dart Collective, which was actually the first vendor I signed - we worked on the playlist with them ahead of time, and they use a lot of vinyl for their events. Sam, as a former professional chef, was most excited about the food; our caterers Harvest Kitchen were great. And we bought the wine ourselves from a local shop, placing a mix of orange, white, rose, and red on the tables so guests could serve themselves.

Overall, we really couldn’t have asked for a better weekend and I’m so grateful to our family and everyone who helped us plan everything, it was truly so much fun.