There are sooooo many beautiful things about today's featured wedding. Not really sure where to start! Sent to us by California Event Planner, Melissa Panico of MAP Events, Kara and Chris' winter wedding was just an enormous array of pretty!! And as usual, I have to start with the killer shoes ...

MAP Events San Francisco Winter Shoes

photography courtesy of Michelle Pattee

From Melissa ~ Kara and Chris were married this past winter at St. Patrick's Church in San Francisco. Their reception followed at the Pacific Union Club on top of Nob Hill (a private gentlemen's club). The overall setting was Old World SF ~high ceilings and regal interior. In lieu of a cake, they did an Italian cookie dessert display from the old Italian bakery, Dianda's, in the Mission. Bride included the history of St. Patrick's on the program and the history of the Pacific Union Club (the original Flood Mansion) on the back of the letterpress menus from A Day In May.

We asked today's beautiful bride, Kara, to tell us a little bit more about her wedding experiences ...

One of my favorite memories from the day was hanging out in the suite with my parents, sister and bridesmaids. Having our hair and makeup done was the ultimate luxury – it allowed us to relax and enjoy each others’ company.

My most vivid memory is of a family friend – a professionally trained opera singer – singing Wagner’s Ave Maria during communion. The acoustics at St. Patrick’s Church are such that, without use of a microphone, her voice filled the large church and reached all 240 guests as she sang from the balcony with the beautiful organ accompanying her.

A little more interesting info from Kara ~ I didn’t want any wedding at all! Having lost that battle, we chose The Pacific-Union Club since it offered a definite look and didn’t require much creative direction on my part. I also love that the Club is a part of San Franciso’s history. As far as our wedding colors, I didn’t want color to take over the wedding. I wanted each of the elements of the wedding to stand on their own without an overarching theme. There were so many great colors and textures that we wanted to showcase in both St. Patrick’s Church and The Pacific-Union Club – dark wood paneling, gleaming white marble columns, colorful damask walls. I like classic and elegant, and so I ended up with black and white by default!

We opted not to have a cake. Instead, we served dessert with dinner. Then, during dancing, Italian cookies were available at the coffee station – a nod to my Italian heritage. I never wanted a cake because it just seemed silly to me, and looking back I am so glad we were done with wedding obligations after our first dance. I’m also glad there wasn’t anything to interrupt the great energy of the band once the dancing started.

Just one of Melissa's many great ideas was to buy a coffee table book to serve as our guest book. I didn’t want the burden of lugging a half-filled guest book from house to house over the years and so we loved that idea. We both love art so we picked out a SFMOMA book. Looking through the book, you never know when you’ll come across a message and where on the page it will appear.

You can see the entire gallery of images from Kara & Chris's wedding in the SMP photo gallery.

Congrats to Kara & Chris and thanks to Melissa and Michelle for sharing!!

Photography ~ Michelle Pattee, Wedding Gown Designer ~ Carolina Herrera, Bridesmaid's Dresses ~ BCBG, Earrings ~ John Iverson earrings, Bracelet ~ Kara's mothers, Floral Designer ~ Cherries, Event Planner ~Melissa A Panico, Invitation Designer ~ A Day in May, Band ~ Durell Coleman