Katie Leclerc and Brian Habecost’s Fun Palm Springs Wedding

Actress Katie Leclerc and casting director Brian Habecost met on a movie set and hit it off right away. But when shooting wrapped, she headed back to Texas and he stayed in Los Angeles. They spoke every day until she moved back to California four months later and their romance blossomed. About three-and-a-half years after that, he popped the question in a way that was straight out of a movie. She woke up surrounded by streamers, flowers, photos from throughout their relationship, and tons and tons of balloons. “He had decorated the entire house,” Katie recalls. “And since we’d just moved in, there was no furniture, just these reminders of us. Flowers lined the hallway to the living room, where there was a huge banner that read, ‘Katie will you marry me?’ When I saw it, he got down on one knee.”

The wedding was just as fun and festive as the proposal. On September 6, 2014, the couple and their 140 guests ventured down to Palm Springs, California, for a destination wedding at Colony 29. The pair peppered their love of having a blast, being outdoors, riding their bikes, and playing games like Cards Against Humanities (which comes out pretty much any time they have friends over) into their celebration. 

See Katie and Brian’s Wedding Video

Peanut Press Creative crafted the fun invite suite, which incorporated graphic patterns, geometric shapes, and pops of citron yellow, coral, bubblegum pink, ice blue, and navy.

The couple chose Colony 29 because in addition to being a great spot for a wedding, the property boasts six houses, so the couple, their families, and most of the bridal party all stayed on site. “It made for a really fun, community feel,” Katie recalls.

And since everyone slept over, the memory-making continued into the wee hours. One of Katie’s favorite moments of the wedding day happened long after the informal, poolside after-party wrapped. She and her new husband were walking their dogs and talking about the celebration—reflecting on how perfect it felt, how lucky they were, and how excited for the future they were—when they stopped to sit down, not realizing they had perched on the stairs on which they’d stood just hours earlier for their ceremony. “The sun was about to rise and there was magic in the air,” Katie says. “That is a moment I will never forget.”

Brian donned a blue Zara suit and April Look bow tie. His bride sported a personalized Gustavo Cadile gown, sash, and veil. In keeping with tradition, Katie’s “something borrowed” was her best friend’s Chanel yellow flower necklace, her “something old” was her grandmother’s diamond tennis bracelet, and her “something new” were her Nadri earrings.

Katie clutched a mix of roses, ranunculus, hellebores, and andromeda by Twigg Botanicals.

Katie asked her girls to pick their own dresses and gave them a color palette to guide them. They all wore Aldo flats, so they could be comfortable at the outdoor wedding and ready to cut a rug on the dance floor. Groomsmen sported H&M suspenders and cheery pink bow ties from April Look.

Each of the bridesmaids carried bouquets of various roses, seeded eucalyptus, and aster.

Brian’s boutonniere was comprised of a pink ranunculus, a lisianthus bud, hypericum berries, and seeded eucalyptus sprigs.

White chairs were set in front of the built-in ceremony stage. The stage was personalized for the day with a custom backdrop made by Amorology Weddings and Back Up Backdrops, which alluded to the couple’s love of cycling and the notion of sharing the road together through Plexiglas arrows that provided a symbol of motion. A colorful floral arrangement and two potted cacti added a bit of desert flair—and were sturdy enough to survive the extremely hot weather.

Bridesmaids danced down the aisle to “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” by Us3, and Katie and her dad walked in after, as a ukulele version of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” played. 

Once in place, the couple’s pal led the customized and humorous service. “I highly recommend asking a friend to officiate your ceremony if you can,” Katie says. “It adds such a personal touch to such a special moment.”

“Trumpets” by Jason Derulo provided the soundtrack to the fanfare that occurred when the newlyweds walked up the aisle together.

A selection of Hubert’s Lemonade was on hand to keep guests cool in the Palm Springs heat. The colorful refreshments were also used as mixers for the cocktails.

The day’s specialty cocktail—a Cactus Cooler—was made with pink lemonade and vodka, and accented with a sugar rim and lemon twist.

A cute cart from Si! Paletas was on hand, too, offering frozen treats.

Following witty signage referencing a song by a particular California girl, guests chose from a variety of popsicles flavors: orange vanilla bean, watermelon lime, strawberry cream, piña colada, mango coconut, and grapefruit.

A mix of vintage mid-century pieces were used in the lounge areas.

Inspired by the cover of Jack Kerouac’s novel “On the Road,” this backdrop (another collaboration between Amorology Weddings and Back Up Backdrops) read, “Are you ready? Let’s Roll.” Using string and drawer knobs, plus vinyl decals for the wording, the installation alluded to the couple’s love of bike riding and their favorite game.

Escort cards inspired by the Cards Against Humanity game were displayed in trays filled with bright pink aquarium rocks. On the fronts of the cards were the guests’ names and on the back of each card was a word. Attendees had to try to match up the word with a prompt that was printed on a large card on each table. In case they got stuck, a small number was also provided.

Rectangular tables were set with a mix of yellow and white vintage chairs under a tent draped with gauzy white fabric. Candelabras were dressed with fragrant branches of bay leaves.

Instead of large table numbers, each table was differentiated with a prompt, like “When you love each other you always share _________,” and “_________ is cooler than being cool.” The couple came up with many of these lines, with some help from their wedding planner, to add an interactive element to the reception.

The week after the wedding, the newlyweds raced in a triathlon. They incorporated their love of biking into their wedding in a few key spots—for example, in the cutouts that topped their yellow-and-white plates, which the pair collected by visiting every nearby Target store. After the big day, they gave sets of 12 to the bride’s parents and siblings, and kept the remainder for future entertaining.

The plates were topped with pink cutouts representing the table number. Matching napkins, mixed glassware, modern gold flatware, and woven chargers that had been painted white rounded out the setup. Different centerpieces were used, with this table anchored by a few white ceramic vases filled with yellow grevillea, lisianthus, seeded eucalyptus, garden and spray roses, peonies, ‘Rilona’ amaryllis, ruscus, mountain ash berry, ranunculus, pieris, leucadendron, and ‘Matsumoto’ aster.

Other tables were set with pink potted cacti, citrus fruits, and floral runners. The pattern on the runners was hand painted by Peanut Press Creative and printed on fabric by Spoonflower. 

Katie’s costars from the television show Switched at Birth all attended the celebration. Here, Marlee Matlin, Gilles Marini, and Lea Thompson pose for a photo. Later, when it was time for the father-of-the-bride speech, Katie’s dad brought her two TV dads (Gilles and D.W. Moffett) to the microphone to join him. “To have my television family there in support was unreal,” Katie recalls. “The producers and directors were there as well. There was so much love.”

An installation (that included a bike as a nod to the couple’s beloved pastime) read, “I’m into something good,” and provided a whimsical backdrop to the abundant table of desserts. “I wanted there to be so many options it was almost silly,” Katie says. The sweets were displayed on various cake stands. “At one point we looked over and my niece and nephew were underneath the table talking, and every few minutes a little hand would reach up and grab something. They would share it and talk until it was time for the next one!”

The focus of the table was the wedding cake, which was designed by Hey There, Cupcake! and covered with sugared fondant and wafer paper flowers.

Mini cupcakes from California mainstay Sprinkles were topped with edible cactus-shaped decorations.

After changing into a short Erin by Erin Fetherston dress, Katie and her husband took to the dance floor to perform their choreographed number to “Love Never Felt So Good” by Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake. It was quite a memorable performance, and yet another example of how well the couple works together. Not long after the dancing duo showed their stuff on the big day, they started a production company together. How’s that for teamwork?

Photography: Gideon Photo

Location: Colony 29

Event Planning and Design: Amorology Weddings

Catering: Room Forty 

Flowers: Twigg Botanicals 

Cinematography: Cloudless Weddings

Stationery: Peanut Press Creative 

Calligraphy: Nancy Hopkins Handlettering 

Cake: Hey There, Cupcake! 

Cupcakes: Sprinkles

Paletas: Si! Paletas

Bar Services: Best Beverage Catering

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals; Folklore Vintage Rentals; The Hostess Haven; La Tavola Fine Linen; Rhapsody Rentals

Hair: Sean Mikel

Makeup: Andre Sarmiento 

Ceremony, Escort Card, and Dessert Display Backdrops: Back Up Backdrops

Photo Booth: Best Shot Photo Booth

Save-the-Dates: Amber Moon of Pitbulls and Posies