Parker Palm Springs artistic Wedding photography
Christine Arnold Photography in Palm Springs

Parker Palm Springs artistic Wedding photography

The Parker, in Palm Springs. Well, it's one of the coolest venues for weddings. Karen and Mark agreed obviously since they had their wedding there. It was a really windy day, so at the last minute they decided to move the ceremony from the Crocket lawn into the Mafya room, which turned out to be a fantastic room for the event! It was so intimate and warm and the frame of the french doors was a perfect backdrop for the alter. Mark is Scottish and wore his family quilt, it was SO much fun to photograph these two in traditional garb!

Cathy O'Connell of Celebrations of Joy was the coordinator of this wedding and she and Dorry did a lovely job, everything was right on time.

For those of you that don't know, The Parker Palm Springs was originally established in 1959 as a California's very first Holiday Inn. A few years after that the property was bought by Gene Autry for the purpose of lodging his newly acquired baseball team, the California Angels, during Spring Training. He changed the name of the site to Melody Ranch (it was also often called The Autry Hotel) and added a few luxury touches, like a second pool, tennis courts, a bar, and a couple of restaurants. He kept his famous silver-trimmed saddle on display in the lobby, how cool is that?! In 1994, Autry sold the resort to his hotel director, Rose Narva, who remodeled it into a French-themed wonderland in affiliation with famed Breakfast at Tiffany’s-fashion-designer Hubert de Givenchy. Narva also renamed the site the Givenchy Hotel and Spa. Interestingly, Gene and his wife Jackie continued to live in the two-bedroom, two bath house that still stands to this day and is leased out as a part of the resort. The Autry House is still one of the coolest spots to have a smaller wedding celebration, I've had the pleasure of photographing several times in that house and I love it so much! In 1998, the hotel was bought by Merv Griffin, who renamed it Merv Griffin’s Resort Hotel and Givenchy Spa. I had the pleasure of photographing a very small wedding there in 1999, in the amazing rose archway. It became quite a the celebrity hot spot, bringing in well known actors such as Lauren Bacall, Gregory Peck, John Travolta, and Barbra Streisand, although I was never lucky enough to spot anyone. It was during this time that, over Thanksgiving Weekend 2000, Robert Downey Jr. was arrested in Room 311 after police received an anonymous 911 tip that the actor had drugs and guns in his possession. In 2002, Griffin sold the space to Epix Hotels and Resorts. It sat empty until 2003 when it was purchased by hotelier Jack Parker, who hired designer Jonathan Adler who gave it the facelift and iconic look you see today, which we all love so much!

Location: 4200 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264.

Keywords: Parker Hotel the top wedding venue in Palm Springs.