San Francisco City Hall Elopement
This elopement is so up my alley. Gorgeous light, stunning images from This Love Of Yours Photography and the San Francisco City Hall setting the scene - it really doesn't get any better. And then I read the Bride's description and realized I loved it even more, because it just proves that even when your big day doesn't go exactly as planned, the result is pretty darn fabulous. See even more here.
From The Bride...Igor is from Spain and I am from Oregon. We met in Madrid the year I was living abroad. We were language exchange partners and fell in love! Long story short, we have been living in San Francisco for 4 years and he proposed on a spontaneous trip to Crater Lake, Oregon over Labor Day (on the rim of the crater!).
After much thought, we decided to elope at City Hall on October 31st. We planned our small intimate wedding with my immediate family at City Hall in 2 months and it turned out to be better than ever. My dad got certified to marry us and Igor’s parents and sister were broadcasted in through a live Skype session from their home in Spain.
Oh and the details! You will melt at the sight of my oh so ethereal Badgley Mischka silk chiffon dress against the soft renaissance architecture of San Francisco City Hall. Igor’s grey J.Crew Ludlow suit, the DIY bouquets (we made the day before the wedding with special thanks to our talented friend and fellow designer Michelle Pentz), DIY boutonnieres for each member of my family, my sisters the bridesmaids in J.Crew misty rose dresses and gold shoes, DIY terrarium place markers (from the Hello!Lucky Handmade Weddings book), Grandparent's china and linens from their wedding and great grandpa's glassware all beautifully styled by my wonderful Auntie Shelley and talented friend Lisa Feldman of Lisa Feldman Design, DIY gold sparkle monogram (from Paper Source and perfectly crafted by our dear friend and fellow DIY aficionado Lia Lafreniere), and our first look with Igor riding up on the Vespa.
I debated whether or not to throw in this story but it totally made our day have a little twist so I will tell you... And you are probably wondering why one of our wedding photos is taken with a couple of police officers.
We were outside taking photos and doing our thing with the wedding paparazzi, when I turned around to the sound of some people yelling and pointing at us. We looked behind us and my purse was gone! I left it sitting in Igor's helmet behind us and someone ran by and grabbed it. We didn't see who it was or anything. I was in shock. My passport, ID, credit card and iPhone were swept away. A group of French tourists came up to us and tried to explain what had happened. I didn't know what they were saying at all since I don't speak any French, but Igor was able to decipher a bit since he speaks a little. Igor thought to run across the street to the steps of City Hall where a protest was going on. There were a few police officers there. He quickly ran back to me and took me over to the police officers who then asked me for my apple ID and password. I typed it in and within seconds we saw a little red dot moving along the screen of the GPS. Since my phone was on, they were able to track it! I was able to get everything back, and we got a photo with the police officers. They arrested the woman who had stolen my precious belongings and asked if I wanted to press charges. I told them I did not want to press charges since we got everything back and the lady was notably less fortunate than us. We are so happy that everything got resolved as it renewed our belief in happy endings.
Every member of my family had a role in the planning of our big day and our friends helped with the DIY details. Everything, including Igor's toast that made me cry tears of joy, the 'Moves Like Jagger' dance he did at our reception (as seen in the video), and the feeling of family and togetherness couldn't have been more perfect.
After much thought, we decided to elope at City Hall on October 31st. We planned our small intimate wedding with my immediate family at City Hall in 2 months and it turned out to be better than ever. My dad got certified to marry us and Igor’s parents and sister were broadcasted in through a live Skype session from their home in Spain.
Oh and the details! You will melt at the sight of my oh so ethereal Badgley Mischka silk chiffon dress against the soft renaissance architecture of San Francisco City Hall. Igor’s grey J.Crew Ludlow suit, the DIY bouquets (we made the day before the wedding with special thanks to our talented friend and fellow designer Michelle Pentz), DIY boutonnieres for each member of my family, my sisters the bridesmaids in J.Crew misty rose dresses and gold shoes, DIY terrarium place markers (from the Hello!Lucky Handmade Weddings book), Grandparent's china and linens from their wedding and great grandpa's glassware all beautifully styled by my wonderful Auntie Shelley and talented friend Lisa Feldman of Lisa Feldman Design, DIY gold sparkle monogram (from Paper Source and perfectly crafted by our dear friend and fellow DIY aficionado Lia Lafreniere), and our first look with Igor riding up on the Vespa.
I debated whether or not to throw in this story but it totally made our day have a little twist so I will tell you... And you are probably wondering why one of our wedding photos is taken with a couple of police officers.
We were outside taking photos and doing our thing with the wedding paparazzi, when I turned around to the sound of some people yelling and pointing at us. We looked behind us and my purse was gone! I left it sitting in Igor's helmet behind us and someone ran by and grabbed it. We didn't see who it was or anything. I was in shock. My passport, ID, credit card and iPhone were swept away. A group of French tourists came up to us and tried to explain what had happened. I didn't know what they were saying at all since I don't speak any French, but Igor was able to decipher a bit since he speaks a little. Igor thought to run across the street to the steps of City Hall where a protest was going on. There were a few police officers there. He quickly ran back to me and took me over to the police officers who then asked me for my apple ID and password. I typed it in and within seconds we saw a little red dot moving along the screen of the GPS. Since my phone was on, they were able to track it! I was able to get everything back, and we got a photo with the police officers. They arrested the woman who had stolen my precious belongings and asked if I wanted to press charges. I told them I did not want to press charges since we got everything back and the lady was notably less fortunate than us. We are so happy that everything got resolved as it renewed our belief in happy endings.
Every member of my family had a role in the planning of our big day and our friends helped with the DIY details. Everything, including Igor's toast that made me cry tears of joy, the 'Moves Like Jagger' dance he did at our reception (as seen in the video), and the feeling of family and togetherness couldn't have been more perfect.