Georgia and Zach’s desert wedding at Le Haut Desert Aerie in Joshua Tree was as awe-inspiring as they come! In keeping with the dusty colors of the desert, Burlap & Rose Weddings used a palette of muted pinks, blues, greens, and browns to complement and enhance the natural beauty of the venue. Their floral-focused decor, which included an impressive ceremony arch and rose-covered table garlands created by Hello Gem Events, were the stars of the show, and the ambient lighting the team used to make it shine added such a romantic look. We can’t get enough of every detail of this desert wedding and, thanks to photography duo Jonnie + Garrett‘s incredible work, you can be sure we’ll obsess over these photos for years to come!

The Couple:

Georgia and Zach

The Wedding:

Le Haut Desert Aerie, Joshua Tree, California

Because we had been together 8 years already, planning our wedding was like tying a big beautiful bow on what we already knew would be a lifelong commitment to each other. Basically, our goal was to throw a legendary dance party in the middle of the desert with all our closest friends and family, most of whom are spread out across the country. It was all about celebrating our love and the beginning of the rest of our lives!

Joshua Tree is an incredibly special place to us. It was where we took our very first weekend trip as a couple, and we’ve made so many memories there in the years since! It was a no brainer to choose Joshua Tree, but finding an actual venue was a little more daunting. We were lucky that we found our amazing planner Jen at Burlap & Rose Weddings who knew about all the great venues tucked away out there. Through her, we found Le Haut Desert Aerie — a remote estate in Pioneertown — which we knew was the one from the moment we arrived. We dreamed of watching the pink and purple gradient sunset over the mountains during the reception, and that is exactly what we did!

To personalize our ceremony, we wrote our own vows, which turned out to be the best decision we made in the entire planning process. It was such a sweet moment watching Zach tear up while I read mine aloud. Also, my father is an amazing studio guitarist and played all our ceremony music on acoustic guitar. I am an only child and don’t have a big family, so having him play such a big role meant a lot to us.

We’ll never forget the moment right after the ceremony when we had processed out and were surrounded in a giant circle by our bridal party, family, and planning team. We were all literally jumping and yelling because we did it! Planning a wedding is no joke, and it felt so good to finally let go of the nerves and stress that had built up leading up to the big day. We felt so proud of ourselves for pulling it off and beyond loved and grateful for all the people who have supported us since day one.

As cliche as it sounds, your wedding day is all about you and your partner. All of the time and energy you put into planning should result in an event that is unique to your personalities, relationship, and life together. Make it special to you guys, unabashedly! Don’t think so much about what is culturally expected or what you’ve seen on Instagram and Pinterest. If you don’t care about an intricate, costly wedding cake, then scrap it. If you’re obsessed with florals, don’t feel guilty using a good portion of your budget on statement bouquets and a giant arch arrangement. If you want to have a clown do magic tricks and ride a tiny unicycle around your venue, do it! (And then please invite us to your reception!)

Our vibe was definitely a magical desert oasis. The landscape in Joshua Tree can be a little dusty and bleak, so planning an outdoor wedding was all about creating a magical, ethereal look and feel in a very rustic setting. We focused on big, statement floral arrangements and brought in rented lounge furniture to make sure our guests were comfy. I asked for lots of candles and twinkle lights to give the evening a cozy glow. It was perfect!

Congratulations to Georgia and Zach, and our biggest thanks to Jonnie + Garrett for sharing this beautiful wedding at Le Haut Desert Aerie with Junebug! Want to see more Joshua Tree wedding inspiration? You won’t want to miss this desert chic Joshua Tree wedding at The Ruin Venue!