Photo: Logan Cole
Jessica Hendricks, founder of the jewelry company The Brave Collection, and Patrick Yee, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for Refinery29, have Elton John to thank for their meeting — his music, at least! “We were out at a mutual friend’s birthday party at a karaoke bar and I shamelessly sang ‘Tiny Dancer,'” Jessica says. “Patrick came over afterwards and wanted to meet me!” The pair dated long distance (he was living in Los Angeles while she called New York home) until January 31, 2015, when Patrick popped the question during a weekend getaway in Palm Springs, a locale Jessica had come to love during their years of dating. “I fell madly in love with the wild desert landscape, something I had never seen as a New Yorker!”
While the couple knew they’d return to Palm Springs for their nuptials, it was important to Jessica and Patrick that they find a venue that was special enough for justify asking more than half of their 156-person guest list to fly across the country to celebrate. “We wanted a space that felt lush and otherworldly that was private and would feel almost like an overgrown dinner party at home,” Jessica says. And they found all that and more in the Casa de Monte Vista, located in the heart of Palm Springs. They worked with Beau & Arrow Events to plan a warm, inclusive, and magical event — with a dash of bohemian elegance — and when they tied the knot on February 27, 2016, the final result was nothing short of spectacular. But don’t take our word for it. Read on to see every seriously stunning photo of this couple’s day, as captured by Logan Cole.
The bride spent the morning getting ready with her nine bridesmaids, all of whom donned pink floral robes. “Just before the wedding, I also gave each girl a custom bracelet that I created especially for them with my artisan partners in Cambodia from my jewelry line,” Jessica says. Each bracelet included a compass-shaped pendant and a card that read, “I would be lost without you. No matter which direction our journeys take us, we will be forever connected.”
Then, the ladies (who each had their hair pulled halfway up and adorned with a different arrangement of flowers) changed into their blush Amsale gowns and then helped Jessica slip on her corded lace Katie May wedding dress.
“I always envisioned my wedding dress as sort of a slip,” the bride says. “I wanted something comfortable, slinky, and very fitted on my small frame. I began looking at the more fashionable, anti-cupcake designers but didn’t find anything truly special.” Jessica admits she was both thrilled and relieved when she found a style she didn’t want to take off, saying this look felt like a second skin and incredibly luxurious and chic.
In addition to a lace-trimmed veil, Jessica carried a wild, desert-inspired bouquet of orchids, lotus seeds, jasmine, hellebores, tuberoses, and ferns.
The groom looked charming in his midnight blue suit from Canali, which he paired with a white shirt and silk tie. Just like his bride’s flowers, Patrick’s boutonniere channeled the Palm Springs aesthetic: an air plant, jasmine, and mini succulent were the perfect finishing touches for his attire.
The couple shared a private first look, then met up with their wedding party for pre-ceremony portraits. Patrick’s groomsmen all wore gray pants and a white shirt and silk tie to match the groom. “They looked clean and relaxed,” Jessica says. “We didn’t find it necessary to subject our friends to suit jackets in the desert heat, and we liked the casual look of no dinner jackets.”
Instead of traditional bouquets, bridesmaids carried two styles of arrangements: an orchid with a Strobilanthes leaf, or a pale coral Anthurium with a Philodendron leaf.
As the bride’s attendants walked down the aisle, an acoustic guitarist performed Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” Then, as Jessica and her father walked her down the aisle, the musician switched over to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” a nod to the song that first brought the couple together.
Jessica and Patrick chose to keep the ceremony purposefully simple: “We wanted the incredible spiritual symbolism of the chuppah to speak for itself, so we kept the design very simple with wooden poles, an ivory cloth, and base pots filled with simple greens,” the bride says.
The ceremony was incredibly personalized, with lots of intimate and heartfelt additions to the typical structure. “We worked with our officiant several times in the months leading up to the wedding, discussing and realizing what we value most about our relationship, where our strengths and weakness as a couple lie, and what sort of union and family we hoped to build,” Jessica says. For their vows, the bride and groom chose to share a modern take on a passage from the Torah between Ruth and Naomi. They also wrote a “Lover’s Covenant,” or contemporary version of a Ketubah, that outlined their promises to each other. It was signed before the ceremony and then read aloud for guests to hear.
To close out the proceedings, immediately after the couple’s first kiss, Jessica and Patrick’s DJ began playing “Pata Pata” by Miriam Makeba. “It created an impossible joyful feeling,” the bride says.
When it came to their reception décor, the bride was clear about just one thing: absolutely no roses. “I don’t like overly sweet or overly perfect florals, but rather I love a more wild, tropical, asymmetrical, and textural arrangement,” says Jessica. “We used a mix of desert flowers, lusciously fragrant jasmine, exotic anthurium, and hellebore, and vibrant sliced tropical fruit to create a lush oasis.”
Long tables were arranged on a patio, where a mix of low, gold vessels covered white linens. Palms and fresh fruit, along with fruit-covered trees and lots of glowing café lights, lent a tropical vibe to the reception.
Guests enjoyed a family-style dinner of farmer’s market salad, slow-roasted sustainable salmon, seared flank steak with poblano chile butter, marinated baby broccoli, and sautéed farro, along with three signature cocktails — Yeez Squeeze, a caipirinha, Love at First Sigh, a paloma, and Gypsy Jessica, rosé punch.
Dessert included a three-tiered almond wedding cake with vanilla buttercream and a selection of mini sweets. One of the flower girls could barely contain her excitement upon seeing the decadent spread!
The newlyweds shared their first dance to Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” but with a surprise twist. “It started with that lovely and sweet tune, until the music began to change unexpectedly,” Jessica says. “We looked around, perplexed and everyone clearly had that uh oh moment until we launched into a highly choreographed and oh-so-rehearsed flash mob dance with six of our friends.” To pull it off, Jessica and Patrick swore the dancers to secrecy, ensuring that their dates, spouses, and families had no idea when they jumped onto the dance floor.
Photo: Logan Cole
Following their big day, the new Mr. and Mrs. Yee enjoyed a minimoon at the St. Regis in Punta Mita, Mexico, and then took a ten-day trip to Japan a few months later. “If you can, split your budget between two or even three events instead of saving all of our pennies for one perfect night,” Jessica tells future brides. “For us, that meant a Mexican Fiesta on Friday night where we paired each guest up with another person we knew they’d hit it off with. Then we had the wedding, and a Sunday brunch, where everyone could relax and we could take photos with all of those we guests we didn’t have a chance to on Saturday night.”
Ceremony & Reception Catering: Case de Monte Vista || Wedding Planner: Beau & Arrow Events || Bride’s Wedding Dress & Veil: Katie May || Hair: Diana Campos || Makeup: The Heart of Makeup || Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale || Groom’s Attire: Rothman’s || Groomsmen’s Attire: Bonobos || Flowers: Honey & Poppies || Invitations: Nightingale Handmade || Guest Book: Artifact Uprising || Music: Dart DJ || Catering: Little Nelly || Cake: Over the Rainbow Cupcakes and Desserts || Rentals: Signature Rentals || Photographer: Logan Cole
Can’t get enough of this couple’s pretty celebration? Then we bet you’ll love watching another bride and groom tie the knot in a boho wedding, seen below.