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!
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