Classic Elegance at this San Francisco City Hall Wedding

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January 9, 2024

The Planning

Design / Vibe / Vision

Buddy and I both were born, and raised, and currently live in San Francisco, so having a classic SF wedding was an easy first choice. Once we realized our guest list was around 220 people, we had to find a venue that could comfortably hold all of our friends and family. I had been to one spectacular wedding where the ceremony was held in San Francisco City Hall and knew that we had to tour it for our special day. When my mom and I toured City Hall we realized it was the perfect venue. Its striking architecture and marble are not only stunning, but it has multiple areas and levels that make it a wonderful wedding venue where guests have plenty of room and get a change of scenery throughout the night. Once we were set on City Hall, the rest fell into place. City Hall is so beautiful on its own that we did not want anything to compete with its grandeur. My vision was a classic, elegant, and romantic city wedding that enhanced the already amazing venue. I wanted it to look clean, sophisticated, and romantic - and I think we accomplished just that!

Proposal Story

Buddy and I have been together since 2012 (when we were both still in high school). We both knew we would get engaged sometime after I finished PA school. Once we moved in together after I completed grad school, I jokingly said I wanted to be engaged by the end of the year (December 2022). We moved in together in June 2022 and were engaged July 22, 2022. My timeline worked! I had no idea that it was happening on the day he proposed. I was truly so surprised. He had suggested we throw a housewarming party in our apartment on a Friday, which I of course agreed to. I was working at a summer camp at an all girls school while I was waiting to be credentialed for my new job as a critical care PA. I was rushing to come home from work because I knew we had guests coming over. My car was parked on a slight hill and my steering wheel was locked. I tried and tried to get my car to start, but my wheel was locked and I was fully unable to move it. In a panic I called my parents (who live nearby), and my dad came to my rescue and helped me start my car and unlock my wheel. I was definitely flustered by the time I got home. I opened the door to our apartment and Buddy asked me to come into the living room. He was standing in a tuxedo with light pink rose petals and candles covering the floor. I definitely blacked out for the rest of it, but he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I said yes and then quickly realized our housewarming party was actually an engagement party with our closest friends and family. He had even hired a bartender and made a dinner reservation for our families at our favorite restaurant Cotogna. Buddy did such an amazing job! I was truly so surprised. Even though my sister and mom took me to get a manicure (and insisted I get a neutral color) and shopping the week prior, I had no idea Buddy was going to propose. The following day, Buddy’s parents hosted another engagement party for us at their second home in Sonoma where we enjoyed the sun, swimming and more family and friends. It was a perfect weekend.

Getting Ready

Bridal Portraits

Flat Lays

First Look

The Fashion

Wedding Gown

I fell in love with my Oscar De La Renta gown the moment I tried it on at the first bridal store we went to. It was different; it was not classically bridal, but it was classically beautiful. We initially left the dress behind to look at a few other stores. The next day, I knew the Oscar dress was the one, so I called the store, and luckily, it was still there. We added an ivory ribbon belt to define my waist and chose a simple tulle veil that was longer than cathedral length to go with the drama of San Francisco City Hall. I had never felt so beautiful in my entire life, and everyone at the wedding was raving about my gorgeous and unique dress!

Bridesmaid Dresses

Because my dress had such an intricate floral appliqué pattern to it, I wanted my bridesmaids to be in something without a pattern. My beautiful friends and sister chose any style of Bec And Bridge satin dresses in the color sand, which was a lovely light champagne color and matched the overall color scheme.

Groomsman Attire

The groom and groomsmen wore classic black tuxes to compliment the classic feel of the wedding.

Wedding Party

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

The Details

Food & Drink

Food and drink were very important to us. We found an amazing local caterer who helped us choose dishes that were very “us” and incorporated our love of Asian flavors with classic Californian food. We are not kosher, but did not serve any shellfish or pork. For me, the appetizers stole the show - Kobe beef sliders, avocado carpaccio, Peking duck pancake, white soy cured hamachi, and a blistered corn pizzetta. Dinner was a choice between beef short ribs, herb-crusted halibut, or a wild mushroom and squash risotto. For late-night bites we chose mini soft pretzels with grainy mustard (for me) and fried chicken sliders (for Buddy). Buddy and his family love and appreciate good cocktails, so they hired a team to focus solely on the bar. We had an open bar with four specialty cocktails that were all delicious. We had a French 75 made with gin, a margarita made with tequila with tajin on the rim, a paper plane with bourbon, and a basil gimlet with vodka. The drinks were flowing all night, and everyone had such a blast!

Florals & Decor

City Hall is so ornate and fabulous on its own I did not want florals or decor to fight against the backdrop. We chose white and cream colored flower arrangements with various textures while avoiding too much greenery. My personal bouquet was made of white hydrangeas and roses. I loved the dainty and ethereal look of baby’s breath, which we incorporated into my bridesmaids bouquets, head table runner and some tall “cloud” like table arrangements. I wanted my friends and family to be able to easily speak to the people on the other side of the table, so we avoided having the tables cluttered with too many flowers or big centerpieces. We chose gold accents throughout including chairs and table number signs. I also am obsessed with candles so we incorporated as many candles as possible throughout the night.

Wedding Cake

Neither Buddy nor I are very big on cake, but it was important to my parents to have a traditional wedding cake. I will say, the cake tastings with my parents were very fun - they were so excited to try all the different flavors. We chose to have two flavors, a plain vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries and then a chocolate hazelnut cake with chocolate frosting. I helped design a traditional white 4 tiered cake with alternating layers of fondant roses to play off the style of my dress. We also had a dessert station from our caterers which included one of my and one of Buddy’s favorite desserts - lemon meringue tartlets for me and a banana mousse trifle for Buddy.

Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs

Buddy and I are both Jewish and wanted to have a Jewish ceremony. We met with our Rabbi several times to come up with various pieces of Jewish tradition we wanted to include. We had a private Ketubah signing with our parents and siblings prior to the ceremony. We honored our grandparents who had passed away during the ceremony. And of course, Buddy stomped on the glass! We had a beautiful string trio play during our ceremony. The prelude was “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, the processional “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri, and the recessional was “This will be an everlasting love” by Natalie Cole. Our first dance was “L.O.V.E.” by Nat King Cole. Buddy and I discovered our love of this song from the movie The Parent Trap and decided it would be our first dance song many years ago, while we were still in high school.

Special Detail #1

The Rabbi who married us is the same Rabbi that did Buddy’s Bar Mitzvah when he was 13 years old. We felt very lucky to have a Rabbi who has known us both for so long be a part of our wedding day.

Special Detail #2

Both my parents and my maternal grandparents got married in San Francisco at The Mark Hopkins Hotel. In homage to them, we decided to get ready the morning of the wedding at The Mark Hopkins Hotel and spend our first night as husband/wife there. It is such an iconic SF hotel and we had the most beautiful 70 degree sunny Saturday on our wedding day. The views from our hotel suites were spectacular!

Couple Portraits