Gold and Green San Francisco Wedding

Now this couple knows how to throw a wedding. Ashley and Bobby, both designers, created a wedding day that kept their guests’ experience in a position of utmost importance. Fondly Forever captured all the details of the day, including the bride’s brother performing the ceremony and the gold sequin table linens from La Tavola for the reception.

From the bride, Ashley: Bobby and I met in college in Philadelphia and moved to San Francisco after graduating. The vast majority of our closest friends and family are still on the East Coast, so essentially this was a destination wedding for everyone except us! We decided that if we were going to ask our loved ones to travel across the country, the top priority was to make sure they were taken care of every step of the way. We both work in design (I work in fashion, Bobby in graphic design), so while we had a really specific idea of how we wanted our wedding to look, every decision we made was first and foremost about how it would affect the experience for our guests. My brother was ordained so that he could marry us and he wrote the most beautiful ceremony. I cried when he read it to us prior to the wedding and Bobby cried throughout the entire ceremony! In his reading, he included how important it was that our guests were there not only to celebrate with us, but that we were asking for their support and love for our union that day and for the rest of our lives.

We wanted our wedding to be intimate, beautiful, and full of love with really good food! If I were to describe our ‘theme’, I would say that we wanted the wedding to look glamorous in a really natural, easy way. The color scheme for the wedding was white, gray, green (from the flowers), and metallic. Bobby made the Save the Date video and designed the invitation and welcome bag logo. I made the floral arrangements and my bouquet with help from my mother-in-law who made the floral wreaths and mini bouquets for the flower girls and boutonnieres for the guys. We also made my veil, small decor items, the seating chart, and way more items that I have blocked from my memory now! Throughout the cocktail hour and dinner, the movie “Manhattan” was projected on the wall behind the bar.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Have fun with planning! You’re not helping anyone by stressing out about elements of your wedding. We made a conscious decision to plan the kind of wedding that we wanted instead of being concerned with tradition or expectations. I am so thankful that our family and friends supported us in that decision without a second thought — such as inviting only a handful of the many people we would have loved to include. For destination weddings, plan extra events for your guests! The day after the wedding, we took a bus to Sonoma with our guests to have a wine tasting, tour of the vineyard, and lunch at Nicholson Ranch Winery. Even with a guest list under 60 people, it was still hard to make sure that we had enough time with each guest and I’m so happy that we had that second day with everyone.

Love your photographer! Jen and I did not meet before the day of the wedding, but when we talked over the phone I knew that she was the perfect fit. She and her husband, who was her second shooter that day, were really laid back and so fun! They weren’t pushy about getting pictures, but still managed to capture everything that we wanted. You end up spending so much time with your photographer the day of your wedding that I think it’s really important to enjoy being with them.

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “Someone Like You,” Adele
Bride’s Processional: Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”
Recessional: “In My Life,” The Beatles
Father/Daughter Dance: “Have I Told You Lately,” Van Morrison
Mother/Son Dance: “Beyond the Sea,” Bobby Darin
For our first dance, our guests sang along to Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” as we danced which was one of my favorite parts of the wedding!

Wedding Location: San Francisco, CA / Photographer: Jen Simon of Fondly Forever / Ceremony Venue: San Francisco City Hall / Reception Venue: Foreign Cinema / Day-Of Coordinator: Heather Johnson of Adelphi Productions / Wedding Dress: Aidan Mattox via Saks Fifth Avenue / Wedding Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Hair Accessory: BHLDN / Purse: Vintage / Hair: Javan Stone / Makeup: Diem Voss / Maid of Honor Dress: Parker / Groom’s Suit, Vest, and Shoes: Banana Republic / Groom’s Tie: J. Crew / Groom’s Ring: Custom by Fiat Lux / Cellist: Natalie Raney of Music to Go / Rentals: Abbey Party Rents / Table Runners: La Tavola / Winery: Nicholson Ranch / Cake at Winery: Crisp Bake Shop / Trolley Car and Bus: Events West