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No matter your faith, the holidays are ever enchanting as well as the idea of capitalizing on such creative and festive mojo!  Madelyn Cooper & Brent Johnson didnt necessarily pick a holiday wedding so much as they holidays picked them.  Swept up by all things getting one’s masters entails, the couple opted for a Christmas wedding, giving them more then enough time to both get married, but to also steal away right to their honeymoon.  With a few key connections thanks to the bride’s father, the couple decided on Indian Canyons Golf Club in Palm Springs, a golf course locale nestled beautifully right along a mountain ridge providing unique vista views.  Harnessing Madelyn’s love for Gatsby, the couple turned their day into a 20’s vibed Christmas party, from a gorgeous jeweled bridal headband to tall stark white feather centerpieces accented by glittering gold table numbers.  On the Christmas side of things, garlands of both green and glitter were strung and naturally ornaments made an appearance or two,  while a personal favorite, gold deer dressed the top of their textured wedding cake.  The result is a festive throwback ‘old’ Christmas party, one that marries perfectly with the celebration of weddings!

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Novella of the Bride…

My name is Madelyn, I’m a student and I am 27 years old. I love conversations, mountains, movies, house plants and reading. I would do anything for my two puppies, Sophie and Boomer, and my family (which includes my friends). My husband is Brent, he is a plumber and he is 30 years old. He loves comedy, golf, charcoal grills, video games and cooking shows. He’s the hardest working man I know, he’s over protective and incredibly loyal to his family and friends. Together we like to hang around the house with our dogs, BBQing brats & burgers and watching football, well… he watches the football. Separately we are ridiculously different but as a couple we are a perfect match.

Our overall theme was an Old Christmas Party! I was really into the movie “The Great Gatsby” at the time, with all the glamorous headbands and endless sparkles!  I don’t know that I would have picked winter time to get married, except I was getting my masters and that was the only break I had to take a honeymoon directly after the wedding (one of the Grooms requests was ‘honeymoon immediately’). I  am also in love with Christmas time so I decided to run with it, being as it was that time of year. The theme sort of formed itself from there. The Great Gatsby mixed with Christmas time gradually molded into “Our Old Christmas Party” wedding. This is Palm Springs and we are known for our beautiful golf courses. My dad is also a General Manager at one of the local country clubs, so…. He knows people. 🙂 I can’t forget to mention my husband is obsessed with golfing, a weekly occurance. Bascially, all signs pointed to a golf course. We found Indian Canyons Golf Club tucked away in South Palm Springs. When we pulled up to the club, the mountains had me instantly. It was as simple as that!

A Little Help From Their Friends ~ All my best friends and family helped me out. Like I said, with getting my masters and also recently buying a house together we were held to a very strict budget. I can’t thanks my parents enough with how much they helped us financially and creatively. My mom was at Michael’s & JoAnn’s with me every weekend nearing the wedding. She and her best friend researched, styled, arranged and set up all the table feather centerpieces and decorations. My mom also made my Christmas tree bridal bouquet, the bridesmaids baby breathe bouquets and the groom’s boutonnieres. I would’ve been lost without my sister/wedding planner. Without her my invitation would have gone out late, I would have forgotten to purchase a sash and veil, and my husband and I wouldn’t have had a ride back to our honeymoon suite at the end of the night! My BEST friends/bridesmaids from childhood helped keep me sane throughout the year of planning this wedding. Lindsay was also planning a wedding at the time so we talked LITERALLY every day about “very important” details, like the differences between red red and cranberry red or silver and grey. Courtney gave me her wedding binder so I had a better idea of what things would cost and what little things must not be skipped. Danielle is the mom of our handsome little ring bearer; she helped me paint table numbers gold and dump glitter over anything we could think of. Kristin took me out for much needed margaritas when I needed a break from everything wedding. Gabi blessed us with the most beautiful little flower girl; the cutest white tulle puff I’ve ever seen. Last but definitely not least, Emily gave Brent and I the most amazing gift and she married us. I couldn’t have found a better officiant if I tried.

Favorite Moments ~ I have to say the ceremony is my most favorite memory of that night. Brent and I wrote our own vows, which was the best and worst decision of our lives. We were racked with nerves before the ceremony and we BOTH cried like babies. That being said, it was the most heart warming experience to share our love with each other in front of all our loved ones. So what that the microphone went dead and only the front row heard anything. So what that the sun was blinding our guests as it set behind the mountains. Haha! It was truly the best moment of my life thus far.

Parting Words ~ The little details are what made me the happiest as far as the wedding theme went. Things like our reindeer cake toppers, the mistletoe hanging above us at our head table, the christmas tree ornament part favors and our guest book cover quote, “All I want for Christmas is you…” However, at the end of the day there will be mistakes, you will forget something (or many things if you’re anything like me), BUT it will still be wonderful and perfect. You are marrying the person you fell in love with and celerbating it with all the people you love the most!

Vendor Love

Photographer: Kathleen Geiberger Art | Venue: Indian Canyons Golf Club | Wedding Dress: Wtoo  | Bridesmaid Dresses: Jasmine Collection  | Shoes: Steve Madden  | Hair: Sherry Mesa the Salon in Palm Desert  | Makeup: Professional Make up Artistry by Maja Janjic  | Groom’s Attire: Vera Wang | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas  | Music + Lighting: Greystone Entertainment, DJ Rick  | Florist: Mother of the Bride | Caterer: Indian Canyons Golf Club