Hipsters, PBR and a wedding

Hipsters. They seem to be everywhere these days. Drinking their PBR and smoking American Native cigarettes. They condescendingly reply that they first heard Arcade Fire when they played in some grungy bar in Brooklyn after you excitedly ask them if they've heard of that new band Arcade Fire. They love taking pictures of their fixed gear bike on their iPhones using the Hipstamatic app. It's analog but still digital. So hip. 

I don't loathe hipsters or hate them. I find the whole movement funny. I understand that like many other sub-cultures such as goth, punk, skater, etc. hipsters want to disassociate themselves from mass culture because mass culture is uncool and definitely not hip. Ironically, the hipster movement has shifted into the mainstream. Stores like Urban Outfitters and American Apparel cater to hipsters with their striped shirts, cardigans and vintage looking sweaters. You know you've gone mainstream when you have an entire hotel dedicated towards your niche group but the main point of this post was not a discourse in the hipster movement but to go over my Palm Springs wedding weekend. 

Wedding season is upon us. The first wedding of the summer was for my two UCLA friends and took place at Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. When I first saw that they were getting married at Ace Hotel I thought it was a perfect location for them. Very cool and hip. Something that the SO and I are not so we were intrigued as to what hip people do and like. As noted in the previous paragraphs, hipsters (I'll use the term loosely here) like retro stuff. Well the Ace Hotel is quite retro. It was an old Howard Johnson motel that was updated to its current iteration. Some of the words used to describe the hotel are "minimalist", "desert chic", "hip", and "cool".  I'll let the pictures....and my commentary do the talking. Nice looking pictures courtesy of another wedding guest. 

Wood signage. Wood is so hip now. So organic and natural.

So faded. So cool.

The commune. Hipsters apparently share interests with the hippies. 

For 159 bucks a night I expected a bit more from our room. I did love the bed though. The mattress was incredibly comfy. 

I thought sepia tone would make the room look cooler. It just looks dirtier. 

Retro radio/alarm clock.Still has the hookups for the iPod though. Can't be hip without an Apple product. 

Snacks. I thought I took a picture of the $30 box wine they had as part of the room's drink bar. Guess my camera refused to take part in the irony of it. 

It's a USPS mail bag turned into a laundry bag. It's hip to recycle. 

The wedding itself was simply beautiful and it was great to see old UCLA friends again. 

The wedding took place in the "commune". I'm simply amazed that no one fell into the pool. The other cool part of the commune building was that the entire glass side of the building opened up like a garage door. I want something like that for my future house....when I can afford it in like 40 years.

The food was simply amazing. It was served family style and there was more than enough food for everyone. We ate lunch, dinner and then another lunch at Ace Hotel and each meal was really delicious. Of course, all food was locally sourced and/or organic. I swear hipsters are like hippies with more money, equally horrible fashion sense, and a disdain for the "establishment" whatever that means. 

Seeing the newly wedded couple enjoying their first dance while a slideshow of old UCLA pictures played in the background was quite surreal. It's been over ten years since I first met my UCLA friends and now a decade later we were gathered to celebrate a marriage. Simply amazing when you think about life, growing up and getting older. 

So when we were checking out I saw this flyer for an event taking place at the hotel. If you can't read the flyer it says...

"Happening every full moon 6:00PM to 9:00PM on the Moroccan Patio. Desert Rhythms Drum Circle Courtesy of Crystal Fantasy"

Yeah....I definitely don't belong here. 

All in all a wonderful wedding and the SO and I got to feel cool for a fleeting moment. Upon returning back to LA we went back to our bland, traditional ways. It felt good to be home.

I don't know if they'll let me take pictures but this weekend is the Engaged Encounter Weekend. Yay for Catholic church administered marriage counseling. The SO reassures me that this is just one weekend and it won't kill me. Yeah and the Spanish Inquisition was just so that the church could talk to certain people.