Relaxed Retro Desert Wedding Inspired by The Big Lebowski

Soft Hearts and Stills

April 28, 2020

Brittany and Nick had one major inspiration for their October 2019 wedding – The Big Lebowski! Their venue played a major part of setting the scene for this – with it’s mid-century modern aesthetic, the boutique AirBnB High Desert Paradise in the Yucca Valley provided the perfect backdrop for their relaxed retro theme! 

They hired the house for the whole weekend and had all their best friends crash there with them. As well as the wedding on the Saturday, they hosted a pool party brunch on the Sunday to reminisce and unwind. “All our friends travelled so far, from Boston, to be with us,” said Brittany. “It was amazing to be able to put them up and spend so much time with them!”

As well as using the house’s existing styling to influence their aesthetic, they pulled inspiration from the surrounding landscape, and Brittany even started a business off the back of the wedding. “I spent $700 arranging my own flowers,” she explained, “and completely fell in love with the process so set up a floral design business off the back of it!” She also DIY’d almost every other element; collecting stained glass pieces for their ceremony arch, handpainting and framing all the signage and putting together the dessert table. 

Their ceremony was held in the backyard of the house, and it was super important to the couple that they were able to have their beloved dogs, Luna and Cosmo, as ring bearer and flower girl. Afterwards, they hosted a reception of pizza and a pie bar in lieu of cake, before having a bowling after party at the nearby Yucca Bowl. 

“I absolutely loved planning all the details for our wedding, but it was pretty stressful, truth told!” said Brittany. “Seeing everything come to fruition was worth it though. I also made an effort to let go on the actual day of, being mindful to be present and not running through all the things that were supposed to happen – not stressing about the little things is easier said than done in the run up to it, but on the day it won’t matter and all the efforts you’ve made will pay off!”

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