San Francisco Wedding at City Hall + Starbelly Restaurant

May 23rd. 2011 by Emilia Jane | Filed Under | 22 comments

San Francisco’s City Hall might just be the most perfect ceremony venue I have ever seen.  It’s elegant and classic architecture make it an extraordinarily elegant and romantic backdrop for any set of lovebirds but when those two sweethearts are as cute as these two?  Forget about it!  I could just burst with giddiness and delight!  Her ridiculously adorable tea-length dress, bird cage veil and sassy blue pumps and his debonaire suit were made to stand against that majestic, gilded entrance.  The rest of this modern meets vintage fête from Modern 8 Films and Angi Welsch is just as perfect and sweet!  So you better click here to see the rest!

Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch

Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch
Photography By / Angi Welsch

And the romance is brought to life with this incredible video from Modern 8 Films.  How sweet are these vows?

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From Modern 8 Films A classic 1960′s “Mad Men” inspired wedding at San Francisco’s historic City Hall Building on March 4, 2011.  Jason and Yvonne wanted a wedding that focused on the simplicity of exchanging vows and bringing family together at City Hall followed by a late lunch. The bride wore a knee length wedding dress, teal shoes, lace gloves, and a bird cage veil.  Bridesmaids chose individual vintage dresses in similar shade and era. Reception held at the swanky Starbelly Restaurant on Market St.  Centerpieces were hand made signs displayed in and around mini succulent gardens.

From the Bride… Our wedding was the wedding that almost wasn’t. Jason and I were both quickly defeated by the reality of the costs of wedding locations and were beginning to be discouraged about even having a wedding at all. We were about to call it quits (and elope) when we found San Francisco City Hall. It was love at first sight and, on our first visit, we booked the date and started planning.

I had no idea how difficult it would be to plan a party for 100 people, but after only four months of planning we were able to pull it off without a hitch. I quickly decided on what mattered and what didn’t, in order to save on costs. Some major savings came from my dress and some DIY decor. The biggest savings was probably from choosing locations that were so beautiful on their own, that we didn’t need to do much to spruce them up. The ceremony had virtually NO decor. We simply rented some chairs and printed the programs and let the bridal party and the orchestra make the bulk of the ambiance. The reception was held at a local restaurant, Starbelly, which we originally just picked for their delicious menu, but it didn’t hurt that the restaurant is beautiful and already had a sort of unique feel.

I knew a big place I could save was on flowers, so I only ordered bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages. For the centerpieces I ordered some plain planters and sourced some succulents at my local farmers market. My dad and I planted them together, which was a fun project that he could participate in. I also made a pomander for the flower girl out of yellow satin fabric that I sewed into little rosettes and pinned into a styrofoam ball. The ceremony venue does not allow petals and our flower girl was only two years old, so a pomander was the perfect solution.  A HUGE help to the reception decor was to enlist some graphic design help. An old friend of mine, Andy Tran, is a graphic design student and I called him up to see if he’d be interested in a few wedding projects. He designed our wedding logo, program, table numbers and signs for the guest book and cards. I turned the logo into stickers to make cupcake flags.  I hired a friend of mine to do the wedding planning. It was great to have someone I knew in the role. I had worked with her as a buyer for years and knew that she wouldn’t let a single thing go wrong. Having so much confidence in her was huge, because when it came time for the big day, I wasn’t worrying for a second. I knew everything that needed to happen would happen.

Our wedding was a blast. We did it our way. We had a lovely and honest ceremony (we had a friend as the officiant) and a lively and natural reception. Everyone commented what a great time they had and how great the food was. By 6pm everyone was on their way and had the whole weekend to themselves!

 

Wedding Photography: Angi Welsch / Cinematography: Modern 8 Films / Flowers: Church Street Flowers / Event Planning: Emily Adachi, Friend of the Bride / Wedding Ceremony Location: San Francisco City Hall / Wedding Reception Location: Starbelly Restaurant / Bride’s Shoes: Betsey Johnson / Wedding Dress: Dolly Couture / Graphic Design: Andy Tran, Friend of the Bride / Wedding Cake: Pinkie’s Bakery

Modern 8 Films is a member of our Little Black Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
Dolly Couture is a member of our Look Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
 

22 Comments about “San Francisco Wedding at City Hall + Starbelly Restaurant”

  1. Yvonne King says:

    Thanks to Style Me Pretty for posting my wedding! For any bride's on a budget out there, my trusted friend Emily is now planning weddings & events regularly. Her contact info is chandosan2@yahoo.com. Get at her now, as she is booking up fast!

  2. I LOVE this. It looks so romantic!

  3. Elaine says:

    loving this couple's style. Super cool. Beautiful work by the vendors!

  4. Janie Jack says:

    I just love this...it made me pee in my pants...hee hee....

  5. Rachel Tatem says:

    What a nice lovely vintage look she had and you managed to capture

  6. candis press says:

    love this wedding. her vows were precious! perfectly styled!

  7. Love the styling of the bride, very sweet!!!

  8. annie says:

    i love the shot of the couple riding in the F Market trolley :)

  9. Elm479 says:

    You achieved a real classic look at that town hall. Congrats on a great looking wedding budget style.

  10. Tracey says:

    PERFECT....

  11. Tracey says:

    PERECT!!!!

  12. Laura says:

    I just cried my eyes out watching that video. so amazing! I might steal your wedding... I hope you dont mind!

  13. Erin Shelton says:

    Where did you get your bird wedding cake topper????

  14. Maggie says:

    Hello,
    I am doing a courthouse ceremony + reception too and I love yours! what a beautiful restaurant and while the Seattle courthouse is not too shabby (they perform the ceremonies in front of a big window with a city view) the SF CH can't be beat. Beautiful dress too. Gush gush. :)

  15. I could not have LOVED her dress, shoes, bouquet, entire outfit anymore! The picture in front of City Hall was something for the movies!!

    Robbin Montero
    A Dream Wedding

  16. Yvonne King says:

    Thanks everyone for the flattering comments! I'm actually a buyer in the fashion industry, so style did come first!

    @Laura You're the sweetest! Feel free to steal our wedding. I'd be honored! If you have any questions, feel free to send them my way - yvonne.ovich@gmail.com

    @Erin The cake toppers are Jonathan Adler salt & pepper shakers. It was my planner's idea! A GREAT price for a topper and a stylish keepsake for afterward.

  17. I will right away grasp your rss as I can't find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you've any? Please permit me realize in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.

  18. pushfoot says:

    i have a question about starbelly...did they allow dancing etc. at the reception? i LOVE that restaurant but wasn't sure. THANKS!

  19. ashley says:

    i can't get enough of this wedding! what a great idea - and it must've been so much more budget-friendly than a "traditional" wedding. i am truly inspired!

2 Links to “San Francisco Wedding at City Hall + Starbelly Restaurant”

  1. [...] a cute picture! And I love the bride’s shoes. They’re a fantastic blue-green shade. Such a lovely wedding overall; make sure to click [...]

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