California Wedding for Emily Wheeler and John Pew

Emily P. Wheeler and John F. Pew had a remarkably quiet and cozy engagement, with John proposing to Emily in bed with a band courtesy of a fellow jeweler in New York. Emily recalls waking up in bed one morning to John beside her, and that simple, intimate gesture meant more to her than any extravagant proposal.

The Couple’s Background

Emily, 37, is a Los Angeles-based fine jewelry designer, whose self-titled brand can be found at luxury retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Elyse Walker, and Net-A-Porter. She’s also an animal lover with a passion for philanthropy and sustainability. John, 35, is an avid snowboarder, mountain biker, and baker, and a co-founder of the ski apparel company Trew.

They share similar values and a love for having fun, with Emily saying “we spend a lot of our time together in stitches and we know how to disarm each other with laughter.” They also both value self-awareness, with Emily noting that “we have also both gone through a lot of therapy, and both speak the language that it enables and teaches you.”

The Wedding Celebration

The four-day marathon began on Thursday, October 21st with an intimate dinner with both Emily and John’s parents. The families mingled and ate at a private outdoor table at Mr. Lyons, an upscale retro steakhouse in Palm Springs. On Friday, Emily and John opened the celebration to the rest of the guests with a welcome party at the Olive Grove garden, featuring a Moroccan-themed dinner served by The Pink Cabana.

Saturday was for all the wedding magic, with the ceremony taking place at the Olive Grove, where Emily walked down the aisle in a serene, summery wedding ensemble. The wedding ceremony was led by John’s father-in-law, Kirk, and the two wrote their own vows to one another and read them aloud in front of the guests.

Following the ceremony was a beautiful sit-down dinner around the pool, then dancing at The Pink Cabana. For their first dance song, Emily and John went the sentimental route with “Forever After All” by country artist Luke Combs. The night’s events were followed on Sunday morning with a warm, hearty brunch, with John’s mom hosting the gathering at The Pink Cabana.

Sustainability Efforts

Despite the weekend’s abundance of playful glamor, Emily tells us that one of her sole concerns about the wedding was making sure everything was as pro-green as possible. The couple did not mail paper invitations and instead sent electronic ones, limited paper and plastic at the wedding, and used reusable wire frames for flower arrangements.

In lieu of gifts, the couple asked guests to make donations in their honor to organizations including Peninsula Humane Society/SPCA, Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Sierra Club, and Marfan Foundation. For their honeymoon, Emily and John chose The Brando, a luxury eco-resort in Tahiti, which is the only development on the atoll and has a local nonprofit managing the conservation efforts.

Now, six months later, Emily still reflects fondly on the wedding, saying “we just wanted it to be a really fun party and we accomplished that.” The couple’s love story, which began with a chance meeting in Tahoe, has come full circle, with their wedding serving as an outpouring of love and a celebration.