A Whiskey Shot Wedding in Palm Springs

With my globe-trotting lifestyle and a roster of friends rapidly reaching gettin’ hitched levels, I’ve accepted that at some point I might have to RSVP my regrets to a wedding invitation. But when the following Save the Date landed in my inbox, I knew it wouldn’t be this one.

There was no way I was missing the sure-to-be-stylish wedding of my lovely friend Amy and her now-husband Jordan, who together make a couple hot enough to give the surface of the sun a run for its money. Amy and I met when we lived in the same apartment building in Brooklyn and I can attest that the girl knows how to throw a party — so well I’d head to Palm Springs to attend one.

I spent the week between my Disneyland weekend and the wedding one camped out in my friend Lindsay’s Marina del Ray apartment catching up on my insane workload that had built up and feeling guilty that I didn’t have more time to explore on my first trip to Southern California — I literally think I left her place for a total of three hours. I had dreamed of writing a blog post about the Venice canals, the beautiful marina, and the crazy boardwalk, but alas, the following photos are all I’ve got. I’ll be back someday. This time, I had a wedding to attend.

My Brooklyn girls Zoe and Liz arrived in LA around midnight on Thursday and after a quick and sleepy reunion — I hadn’t seen them in almost six months! — we passed out in order to hit the road to Palm Springs first thing Friday morning. Though the drive was supposed to take about an hour and forty-five minutes we more than doubled that due to traffic, meaning we arrived just in time to whip ourselves into wedding-attending shape. But first there was a tiny bit of check-in excitement to be had.

I mean, have you seen The Ace?

I had balked when we first looked at room rates here, but I’m so glad Zoe and Liz gave me flat NO stares when I asked if there was somewhere cheaper nearby. This was the most I’ve ever ponied up for a hotel room, and it was worth it. I was prepared to not leave the property the entire weekend, and we pretty much didn’t.

After a frenzied getting ready session (I can now confirm that Spanx are sold nowhere in the Palm Springs area), we made our way down to the ceremony. There was a moment when I knew without question that this wedding was going to blow my mind, and it was the moment I saw that our escort cards were mini-flasks full of whiskey. Amy and Jordan both work at bars (and plan to open their own someday!) so it couldn’t have been a more appropriate touch to set the tone for the night.

The bride wore white, and tattoos. She was stunning.

The ceremony, performed by a friend of the couple, opened with “Dearly beloved, somewhat beloved, employees of Beloved, we are gathered here today….” and closed with a group shot out of our new flasks. Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I do kind of have the coolest friends in the world. Amy and Jordan in particular are pretty much killing it out there in every category, and watching them together on this day was kind of a victory for the “there’s one perfect person out there for everyone” team.

We laughed. We cried. And then we got the party started.

The Ace’s event space is stunning, and couldn’t have been a more perfect fit for Amy and Jordan. The poolside cocktail hour was followed by a family-style dinner of the best food I’ve ever had at a wedding and toasts that had me reaching for tissues.

By the time we were breaking into the cupcakes (DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE CUPCAKES) things were getting about as wild as you’d expect a wedding that started with whiskey shots to get. Even the photographers Rob and Lindsay — Lindsay was my former roommate in Brooklyn — got in on the fun. To truly appreciate how gorgeous this wedding was you’re going to need to check out their own blog post about it.

The best thing about getting hitched at The Ace? Partying in the pool by 10pm — and if you’re as badass as Amy, doing it in a white bridal bathing suit also rocked by Beyoncé. I can’t really think of a more epic way for a wedding to wrap up.

The next morning we sprung out of bed for Part II of the best wedding weekend ever — poolside Saturday sippin’! Okay, we didn’t so much “spring out of bed” as “drag ourselves to King’s Highway and heal over the most delicious hangover brunch of all times,” but, semantics. We were soon staking out pool chairs in our bikinis and reminiscing over the antics of the night before.

Guys, I am now a complete convert to the Friday night wedding weekend! Hanging by the pool Saturday without a care in the world was one of the best parts of the trip — minus the tequila shots I was tricked into taking. I laughed when another hotel guest quizzed us, “Were you part of that bearded and tattooed wedding last night?” Yes, yes indeed we were.

After a quick goodbye breakfast Sunday morning, it was already time to head back to LAX. The weekend was over way too soon — thought admittedly I probably could have said the same after a week at The Ace. I was more or less ready to move in, and I gave Jordan and Amy a big thank you for bringing us to such a special place. I also gave them a serious bon voyage hug, because they were off on the month-long Southeast Asia honeymoon I was honored to help them plan (they ended up guest bartending at Banyan while on Koh Tao, because what else are honeymoons for.)

Amy and Jordan, thank you for throwing a wedding that was blissfully relaxed, incredibly fun, and so stylish it hurt. You know I’m wishing you a lifetime of antics and adventures — and a bottomless flask of happiness.

Congratulation, Amy and Jordan!