Fairmont San Francisco Wedding: Christina and Hans

Such a classic San Francisco wedding was Christina and Hans'! I hadn't been to St. Dominic's church in San Francisco in a very long time and it was great to be back. It's such a gorgeous church and YOWSA! That veil of Christina's was a stunner for a classic SF cathedral wedding. So lovely!

Christina was not only lovely to look at, but a lovely personality too as was her new hubby Hans. We hit it off from the second we met. I walked home from my meeting with them and told my husband I hoped to shoot the wedding I liked them so much. So sweet and down to earth and I always love shooting classic weddings so it was a big treat when they decided to move forward.

I wasn't disappointed. They stayed true to their lovely spirits on the wedding day and their friends and family were fabulous as well. Christina was absolutely stunning in her Enzoani gown. I couldn't stop taking pictures of her. Hans looked proud and completely in love when he saw is bride walk down the aisle. Such a sweet moment. After the church ceremony we went with the bridal party to the little park on top of Nob Hill and despite the rare 80 degree day, we found a shady spot to do their bridal party photos and then off to the Fairmont Crown Room for the festivities!

The Crown Room looked terrific and all pulled together by the Dreams on a Dime team. I loved the cascading wall of flowers behind the head table too. Laura Auyeung of Poppy Petalworks rocked the florals! Christina's mother made the favors which was such a personal touch.

I just loved this couple and am so happy they are so happy with their photos. We had a blast and well, quite frankly, I couldn't go wrong! Congrats Christina and Hans!

Venue: The Fairmont

Florist: Laura Auyeung- Poppy Petalworks

Event Planner: Tamara Pfaumann, Megan Casey, Amy George - The Fairmont

Coordinator: Alex Barranco- Dreams on a Dime

Music: DJ Zhaldee - Love In the Mix

Baker: Inticing Creations

Gown: Enzoani

Hair: Desiree Green

Makeup: Alyssa Fonseca

Shoes: Klub Nico

Linen and Rentals: Unica Party Rentals

The University Club Wedding, San Francisco - Susan and Michael!

Another fabulous (and intimate) San Francisco wedding! Susan is from the midwest (as am I) so I had a blast photographing her and her family and hearing that familiar midwest accent all day!

I had never photographed at the University Club (kept getting it mixed up with the Commonwealth Club!). Loved this club almost at the top of Nob Hill right down the hill from The Fairmont. The ceremony and reception were in the same room and the room was classic San Francisco. The views were so pretty and we were able to do our photo session at the park on top of Nob Hill, so got a little bit of nature and green in with our city venue shots. Also loved the classic old school bar in this venue.

I loved Susan's hair done by Julianne Chai of Prettyologie. As she said, she wanted is "shellacked" to her head which I thought was hilarious. Indeed it was a gorgeous slick low bun which was stunning with her classic lace Allure gown. She looked great and Michael couldn't stop beaming the whole day when he looked at her!

Elizabeth Bainbridge of 2the9s Events did a fabby job doing the day of coordinating and The University Club food was terrific! Just look at that sushi! The florals by Red Sparrow Floral Design were simple and elegant and fit right in with the sophisticated urban style of this wedding.

Stunning and simple intimate wedding. So much fun to photograph. Congrats to Susan and Michael!

Venue: The University Club of San Francisco

Dress:  Allure purchased at LeSalon Bridal Boutique Valparaiso, Indiana

Hair and Makeup: Julianne Chai of Prettyologie

Music: Denon and Doyle

Florist: Red Sparrow Floral Design

Baker: Pretty Please Bakery

Coordinator: Elizabeth Bainbridge of 2 the 9's Events

Hotel del Coronado Wedding - Mary and Daniel

I loved going down to San Diego to photograph this destination wedding at the Hotel del Coronado. Especially because I had photographed the bride's sister's wedding five years before! I always love seeing families again and watching them grow (her sister's now three year old little girl was the flower girl!).

Within minutes of arriving on the wedding day, I was told by the wedding planner, Christine Ong Forsythe with Lavish Weddings. that the bride and one of her bridesmaids had food poisoning and a doctor was summoned to the hotel to try to get everyone in shape to actually go to the wedding. Oh my! In walked Mary looking a little weak about an hour later, but ready to enjoy her day the best she could despite being told she couldn't eat or drink ANYTHING but poweraid for at least 24 hours. I felt terrible for her, but she persevered and after hair and makeup was done, you would never know how sick she had been just a couple of hours before. This left her to enjoy a perfect "Wizard of Oz" themed day and evening at this classic Deco-era hotel.

The Del's Coronet and Crown rooms both sparkled in anticipation of the formal black tie wedding and Christine of Lavish Weddings and her crew of top-notch vendors did a fabulous job carrying off the Wizard of Oz theme at this formal event. I loved the poppies Sharon Mintz of Organic Elements incorporated into the flowers and the place card table. The rest of the flowers and colors for the wedding were based on the table indicators which were all scans of the original illustrations from L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz books. 

Beautiful personal touches were added as well including the music for the ceremony which was written by Daniel, the groom! I'm not sure if there was a dry eye in the house when everyone attending sang a hymn together. Most of Mary and Daniel's friends are professional musicians so they really could belt it out. It was a gorgeous and memorable moment for all in the room. The first dance song was also written by this talented composer and was about April Fools (they got married on April 1st!).

Love, Love, Love all around for this couple and this wedding. So classic, deco and stylish AND such genuine love and talent. April Fools and food poisoning? Didn't ruin this wedding day! Mary even "bedazzled" her wedding shoes to sparkle like Dorothy's. Good thing she did. They definitely produced magic for her on this fabulous wedding day. Congrats to Mary and Daniel!

Venue: Hotel del Coronado

Coordinator: Christine Ong Forsythe, Lavish Weddings

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Linen: Concepts Event Design

Barber: Sterling Mobile Barber

Hair and Makeup: SoCal Hair and Makeup, Dina and Jenn

Stationer: Lindsay Klemaske, Take Note! Creations

Music: Hausmann Quartet and David Patrone

Baker: The Fabulous Cake Girls

Caterer: The Hotel del Coronado

Bridal Gown: 2 gowns, both Jenny Packham from Marina Morrison in SF

Bridesmaid Dresses: Theia

Formalwear: Nashville Tailor Stitch-it and Co, by Jeff Loring

The Flood Mansion - Emily and Collin!

It's been a while since I photographed a wedding at The Flood Mansion in San Francisco. Yowsa - it's still one of my favorite locations in the entire bay area and it was the perfect sophisticated and elegant venue for a sophisticated and elegant couple.

After a fairy tale first look at the Lyon Steps, a trolley dropped off the bridal party and immediate family for a super fun photo session. Nobody seemed to mind too much that I made everyone traipse up and down the many flights of stairs because the trolley couldn't drop us off JUST where I wanted to photograph everyone. Many thanks to everyone for doing that for the picky photographer! It DID provide some really fun shots of our bride getting her workout in for the day!

Emily and Collin said their vows in the courtyard at Flood mansion flanked by a couple of gorgeous floral arrangements by Lynda Quiros of Elle Que Designs . Oh it was so elegant and glamorous and Emily looked like Grace Kelly come back to life in her incredible gown by Jinza Bridal. The hair and makeup team of Amy Hsueh and Laura Yamasaki, couldn't have done a better job with Emily's elegant look and I had a glorious time photographing this stunning bride. Collin was incredibly dapper too in his Hugo Boss tux and Tom Ford Bow Tie. I loved some of the pre-ceremony shots I got while he and his groomsmen waited for the ceremony to start.

As if all of that wasn't enough gorgeousness, the party started and the dining room looked so stunning! Caroline Bottoms made sure everything looked perfect. Global Gourmet provided not only that gorgeous bridal party tablecloth but also this gorgeous and delicious food. All set within the elegant rooms of the Flood Mansion with views of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, how could this NOT be one of my favorite locations in the bay area! I always feel honored when I photograph a wedding in this gorgeous space.

Thank you, Emily and Collin and congratulations!

Event Coordinator: Caroline Bottoms

Venue: Flood Mansion

Floral Designer: Lynda Quiros of Elle Que Designs

Caterer: Global Gourmet Catering

Cake: Susie Cakes

Hair Stylist: Amy Hsueh

Make-up Artist: Laura Yamasaki

Lighting: Got Light

Dress: Jinza Bridal

Jewelry: Helene Lucille