I can always spot a San Francisco wedding from a mile away. There’s just something about the city that lends itself to stylish weddings, and this one from Milou + Olin is all the proof you’ll need. Think classic with a modern twist, and a four-tier creation by Sweet on Cake that sent guests into the happiest sugar coma ever. Party on in THE VAULT and catch Lovespun Films’ capture below.
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From The Bride…From the beginning Jake and I wanted wedding that was classic and timeless. We never wanted to look back at our pictures and feel like they were dated. So we selected the things we loved and pieced every detail together one by one.
We looked everywhere for a venue for the first five months of our engagement and if we wanted a June wedding, time was definitely running out! We looked in the Napa Valley, Tahoe, Arizona and San Francisco, of course! We had a very specific list of what we wanted and as gorgeous as the other venues were they were still missing the mark. The Flood Mansion was always my first choice, however when I looked at their website a few days after getting engaged, they were completely booked for the next two years!
Out of desperation one September morning I called and said “Do you have any dates available in 2014?” We wanted a June wedding, but at that point we would be happy with whatever was available. Helen, the nice woman on the other end replied “What date are you looking for?” I laughed to myself knowing that a June date was completely out of the question, but thought I’d ask anyway. “June, ideally, but we would be happy with whatever” I said. Nervous for her response she said “Well, we actually were supposed to close our calendar from June through September 2014 for a construction project, but I just received a letter from the VP of construction this morning that the project is no longer taking place so our calendar is wide open! What date would you like?”. Oh, my goodness I couldn’t believe it, it was meant to be! “June 21!” I said. And so we were set in our dream city at our dream venue.
The challenging part for me was the fact that I was the bride, the designer and the florist. It was easy yet hard to know so much of what we could do while also staying within our budget. As I am in the wedding industry I am constantly looking through magazines and blogs so it was hard for me to pick and choose what was necessary and what was not. The flowers were a bit a challenge as I was juggling a lot those last few weeks and looking back I definitely don’t think any bride should be at the flower mart the week of her wedding.
Luckily, I had “my girls” and fellow Chapel Designers there to back me up. I worked in my friend, Susan’s (Three Sisters Flowers) studio Monday through Thursday the week of the wedding and then she, Erin (Scarlett & Grace) and their staff managed the rest Friday and set-up everything on Saturday. Without their help our wedding wouldn’t have looked as gorgeous! I am so grateful to be apart of such an amazing group!
We enjoyed every minute of our wedding, however as everyone says it goes by entirely too fast. What we loved most was that we took the time to write our own vows to each other. There were days leading up to the wedding that we were so overwhelmed with other details that we almost thought it might be easier just to let the officiant speak, but we persevered and I wrote mine and Jake wrote his and it’s the one thing we cherish most in our wedding film. Yes, it takes more effort but definitely worth it. Now I have our vows framed in our home and its something our family can cherish for years to come.
My advice for other brides would be to let your vendors do their thing! You hired them and you should trust that they will see your vision through. The less of a control freak you are the better the end product tends to turn out. Even with my own brides, when they give me strict instructions on how to arrange their flowers and what exact flowers should be used, I feel confined and uninspired. The brides who give me their color palette and overall vision and just tell me to “do my thing” get something more unique and less cookie cutter. That was a pact Jake and I made from the beginning…to just let our vendors do their thing!
Photography: Milou + Olin Photography | Cinematography: Lovespun Films | Coordination: Chelsea Bowman | Floral Design: The Petal Pusher | Floral Design: Scarlett & Grace | Floral Design: Three Sisters Custom Flowers & Events | Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Cake: Sweet on Cake | Jewelry: Swarovski | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Alfred Angelo | Catering: Oak And Smoke Catering | Hair: Celia Castaneda | DJ: DJ Superior Sound | Groom's Attire: Vera Wang | Groomsmen Attire: Vera Wang | Venue: James Leary Flood Mansion | Bridesmaids' Jewelry: J.Crew | Linen Rentals: BBJ La Tavola | Rentals: Blueprint Studios