Mission Hills Country Club 34-600 Mission Hills Drive • Rancho Mirage • California 92270

For more than 20 years at Mission Hills Country Club, it's been a tradition for the winner of one of the LPGA's most prestigious championships to jump into the lake surrounding the celebrated 18th green. So far, to the relief of friends and family, no bride or groom has decided to "take the plunge" in quite that way, preferring instead to soak up the sights, sounds and splendor of this desert oasis while staying picture-perfect dry.

With the jagged Santa Rosa Mountains reaching skyward in the background, you drive through the wrought-iron gates and truly feel that you've left the world behind as you arrive at those famous jade-green fairways studded with enormous rustling palms. For your ceremony, you have a choice of two stunning locations—The Lakefront or The Grove.

At the Lakefront, your family and friends will be seated overlooking the renowned 18th green, an island reachable by a footbridge anchored by a bronze statue of Dinah Shore (who first created the women's tournament here in 1974). As your guests take their seats facing the lake, everyone has a perfect line of sight to watch you make your entrance down the stairs from the clubhouse.

The Grove is an equally spectacular setting. Guests are welcomed into a secluded orchard of young citrus trees, whose fragrant blossoms offer a seasonal surprise. Lush green hedges and bright splashes of colorful flowers surround a carpet of manicured lawn where seated guests face an elevated altar. Then you and your fiancé say "I do" against a majestic backdrop of Mount San Jacinto and mature palms gently swaying in the breeze.

Afterwards, celebrate the moment with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, served either on the spacious clubhouse veranda overlooking the golf course or inside the air-conditioned lounge with floor-to-ceiling, wraparound windows that seem to bring the outside in.

The clubhouse offers an understated elegance with a modern take on mid-century themes. There's a subtle interplay between soft and hard, like the placement of plush carpets and a red velvet settee around a marble fireplace…and an inventive use of natural materials, like panels of polished picture quartz, backlit and set into the textured stone wall behind the bar. Directly over the bar, dramatic circular teak chandeliers descend from the coffered ceiling. The entire lounge area is large, bright and inviting, with a mixture of traditional tables and chairs in the center and more intimate, curved banquettes around the perimeter.

The adjoining banquet rooms continue the same design themes, and have the flexibility to be opened fully to accommodate 215 people or reconfigured for smaller gatherings. As with the lounge area, the full-length windows allow the tall, exterior columns and vibrant pinks, yellows and greens of the outside landscaping to become part of the room.

And if one day is just not enough to contain your bliss, Mission Hills Country Club offers a full spa on the property for pre-wedding pampering, plus a separate compound of four villas ranging in size from 1,700 to 3,200 square feet. With a combined total of 13 bedrooms to house you and your out-of-town guests, this very private, gated area includes a party-sized barbecue grill, putting green, and hot tub and pool, where everyone will most definitely enjoy each other and the relaxing ambiance.