Showing posts with label nicole ha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nicole ha. Show all posts

Friday, November 22, 2013

Jo & Steven's Wedding. San Francisco

Ceremony at St. Patrick's Church and reception at the The Four Seasons in San Francisco.

St. Patrick's had been the church they absolutely wanted to be married in. I think all would agree that it's an amazing site. When I first met them, I let Jo and Steven know that I had been waiting for the opportunity to photograph at St. Patrick's - I love its architectural style. The church was rebuilt in the early 1900's after the earthquake using red brick and is a stark contrast to the ultra modern concrete buildings around it. While working in San Francisco, I'd walk pass it's beautifully weathered bronze doors everyday and speculate how I would approach a wedding at the church.

The wedding was beautiful, set among the many Gothic style arches and columns. Jo and Steven's exit through the main doors was classic. I loved having guests gathered around the door as the bride and groom stepped through, paused, and walked down the stairs into the crowd - all happening along busy Mission Street. Awesome way to transition from the ceremony! The couple hired a cable car to ferry people to our photography location so we all climbed on board. Family and friend toasted with champagne as we drove through the South of Market.

Jo and Steven were super enthusiastic during their engagement session and the their wedding day was no different! Many guests were coming from out of town so the couple spent a lot of time and effort sweating the details with elements meant something to them while also creating a celebration their friends and family would love. I know they had a good time browsing Etsy, Minted, and Hello Lucky the months leading up to the big day.

That morning Steven handed out sixpack's with personalized labels to the groomsmen as Jo finished hair, makeup, and her Tiffany blue nails - finishing right on time. Steven had a dashing custom-made suit accessorized with his grandfather's watch while Jo stepped into a finely detailed lace dress wearing her mother's vintage jewelry. We decided on a first meeting with just Jo and Steven... and 4 cameras :) I love doing these, it was such a beautiful moment. About half an hour before the ceremony they saw each other for the first time in a hallway of the Four Seasons. Private meetings have, without a doubt, become a modern tradition worthy of including in your wedding day. Things happen so fast, this is a perfect time to slow down taking a moment to focus on yourselves before dedicating the rest of the day to your guests.

The Veranda Ballroom and Terrace were readied by Gabbi and the Four Season's staff along with Satra. Worth noting are the mason jars Nicole filled with succulents and candles hanging on the Terrace behind the bar. So many details! Escort cards in the form of tickets, lace used in the place settings, wood-block table numbers from Etsy, menu cards from Minted, invitations from Hello Lucky, coaster, CD's, mad-libs... a late-night snack bar with Root Beer floats (yummy). All capped off by a sparkler exit on Market Street; it was a pretty awesome day!


Event Coordination: Satra Zarghami of Events by Satra
Cinematography: Ric and Rose of Grover Films
Floral Design: Nicole Ha
Cake: Cakework
Makeup and Hair: Meaganne McCandess
Cermony Music: San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Reception Music: Jason Mitchell
Lights and Linens: Hartmann Studios
Transportation: Events West

 

Friday, January 11, 2008

Jeannie and Hyung's Wedding. Mountain View



Ceremony at New Community Baptist Church in Mountain View and reception at Ming's in Palo Alto.

It is Friday, January 4, 2008. The National Weather Service has a severe storm warning posted and is forecasting hurricane-force winds for the Bay Area. The Sierras around Lake Tahoe is forecasting blizzard conditions (extremely rare). We are going to have 3 straight days of chilly inclement weather. I just completed another scouting trip to Stanford and it doesn't look good. The wind is blowing rain everywhere, good luck finding a dry spot. Even I am worried at this point - but I did call Jeannie and joke that I was going skiing on Saturday instead of photographing her wedding because of the epic snowfall ;)

Saturday morning was clear enough for the groomsmen to gather outside while preparing for the seemingly universal Asian tradition of gift offerings, tests, bribes, and begging before being allowed inside the home of the bride's family. Several of the tests were... entertaining (one involved some ladies underwear). Shortly after entering Jeannie and Hyung served tea to Jeannie's relatives. Gifts and blessings were exchanged. After a mid morning snack and a quick change of outfits we were off to the Four Seasons - our backup bad weather indoor location - for bridal party pictures. The hotel was very accommodating!

It is starting to rain heavily again. It has rained so much up to this point that half the church's parking lot is underwater when we arrive. Jeannie is still all smiles though as they exchange vows and perform another tea ceremony. Korean this time. A unique aspect of this tea tradition is the throwing of figs and chestnuts. The more the couple the can catch, the more children they will have. Another wonderful thing is how each nationality has such different and colorful clothing.

At Ming's everyone is looking much more relaxed and we've all but forgotten about the rain. It seems the bridal party may have gotten their shoes wet because they changed to sneakers, hahaha. There was an abundance of food, a touch of emotion, lots of Karaoke, and tons of music. One thing worth mentioning was the DJ/MC - he was pretty entertaining if you prefer highly interactive DJ's.

Floral Arrangements: Nicole Ha
Cake: Napoleon Super Bakery
DJ: Macala Entertainment