Inside One Groom's Surprise ELLE Party Prank for His Bride

Elle

2 days ago

After 13 years together, Laysla De Oliveira and Jonathan Keltz wanted to have a wedding that was special and felt like it was just for them. With that in mind, the two eloped and were married at the Santa Barbara courthouse and later had a celebration at the Drift Hotel in Palm Springs on the winter solstice with their close friends and family by their side. As actors, Laysla, who stars on the Taylor Sheridan series Lioness, and Jonathan, who was a cast member on The CW series Reign, spend a lot of their time in front of cameras, so they craved something intimate. They worked with wedding planner Janna Takeyama of Orange Blossom Special Events to craft the perfect vibe. 'We've been together for a long time; we've gone through all the highs and lows of life together,' Jonathan says. '[Getting married] was a moment we really wanted to honor just as just us two, and then have a celebration with everybody else.'
Palm Springs was an easy trip for their guests to make, and the couple centered all of their wedding activities around the hotel to maximize the time that everyone could spend together over the course of the weekend. 'We are very energetic people and we do everything we can to try to feed that energy with love and positivity,' Jonathan adds. 'We're just so grateful to everyone who came and matched our spirit.' Read on for the details on the ELLE-themed engagement that Jonathan staged, how they recreated their elopement ceremony months later, and why 'Pink Pony Club' became a dance floor moment they'll never forget.
Laysla and Jonathan got engaged just before their 10th anniversary, at a time when her career was taking off and she was frequently attending high-profile events. 'When she was at these events, it awakened this self-love and confidence that I just love so much,' he says. 'I wanted to create that feeling [with the proposal] so that she would love herself and how she looked.'
Jonathan and Laysla's manager conspired to convinced Laysla that she was attending a gathering thrown by ELLE at Cielo Farms in Malibu, so she dressed for a professional event and walked into the venue ready for a party. 'I was like, 'Oh my God, there's lots to drink—let's open the wine,'' she recalls. When she looked around, she saw Jonathan, who she thought was out of town. 'I thought, This is out of a romantic novel. This is incredible and couldn't be more perfect.'
For their elopement in Santa Barbara, Laysla and Jonathan stayed at El Encanto. They really wanted an experience that was calm and meaningful. 'We just hung out by the pool all day, got massages—it was very romantic,' she says. 'Being in the entertainment industry and always having cameras on you or people watching, we both wanted it just to be us two, an intimate, quiet, still romantic moment that didn't feel performative.'
Their friends Jonathan, a photographer, and Carla were their only witnesses. Jonathan took photos and Carla officiated. Rather than having a video recording, they took still photos and recorded the audio of the ceremony.
Before their elopement plans were solidified, Laysla bought an Alice + Olivia suit and white Prada pumps that she loved. 'I just wanted a very classic, almost Princess Diana-esque look,' she says. 'It sat in my closet for two years. When we were ready to elope, I was like, 'I have the outfit. This is exactly what I want.'' The couple loves to match, so Jonathan got a white tuxedo from Zara that he wore with green Kurt Geiger shoes and vintage Louis Vuitton cufflinks that he had received as a gift.
Laysla's look for the wedding party, which took place two months later, came together a bit more quickly. A week before, when she still hadn't found a dress, a friend suggested she look at Alex Perry's line. She found something that was exclusive to Net-a-Porter and had it delivered overnight. It fit perfectly.
When it came time to dance, she changed into an Alex Perry minidress that she wore with gloves and a fur coat from The Frankie Shop. For a family party the night before the wedding, Laysla and Jonathan both wore purple as an ode to Victoria and David Beckham who had been married. (Laysla had recently gotten a Victoria-style haircut for work.) They dressed up like the couple for the first Halloween that they spent together.
Laysla and Jonathan's guests all stayed at the same hotel so they could spend as much time together as possible. The bride invited her friends to join her in the bridal suite as she got dressed for the wedding. Meanwhile, Jonathan and some of his friends indulged in some tequila before doing the first look, which was followed by photographs.
'While we were doing the family portraits, people were getting ready for the party, so most people stepped out into their balconies and started clapping and cheering,' she says. ' It was like we were getting ready to celebrate together. It was very, very romantic and magical.'
Instead of a traditional ceremony, Laysla and Jonathan recreated their elopement by playing the audio for their guests, accompanied by photos. 'We were in the audience with everyone,' Laysla says. 'It was really beautiful to see and experience people's emotions in real time.' Their wedding planner also had the images projected on the side of the hotel. Jonathan adds: 'We got to have this beautiful private moment and still celebrate it with the people we love.'
'I didn't go more than 10 minutes without bawling my eyes out,' Laysla confesses. The couple danced for what felt hours and hours, side by side with their guests. ''Pink Pony Club' ended up being the defining moment on the dance floor, which caught us by surprise. We both liked the song, but that was the moment we fell in love with the song,' Jonathan explains. 'Everybody was just screaming at the top of their lungs suddenly,' Laysla remembers.
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.