I was told that it is very common for the San Francisco cityscape to be washed away with fog. Honestly, I was quite excited to see it with my own eyes. It must be odd for a wedding photographer to say that since I was there for a wedding. Quite luckily, my wish did not come through. Instead, Maurice and Maggie were blessed with a full day of blue sky, sunshine and a light breeze to stay cool.
Maurice and Maggie chose to celebrate their San Francisco wedding close to home at the gorgeous Marin County Civic Center. Opened in 1963, reminiscent of Tomorrowland during it’s time and THE spot for a symmetrical seeker like myself. I went over to see Maurice at a nearby hotel he got ready at before swinging back to their home for coffee and unexpectedly, my favorite moment of the day.
Favorite moment of the day
As I was setting up the shots for Maggie’s dress, I hear Maurice and Maggie talking quietly outside the room. They were sitting at the top of their stairs which meets the corridor to their bedrooms, having a moment to themselves. This is so important…..having some time on wedding day to “just be” with one another. Taking that moment even if you’re stressing out if everything will be in order or that guests will be on time. So much so that the first thing I do during the location session is to ask the bride and groom to walk away alone without me and have a moment. Of course in this time, I take some sneaky photos like I did with Maurice and Maggie.
Following their ceremony with close family and friends, we traveled back into San Francisco city for the location session at the Palace of Fine Arts. It is one of the if not most epic locations I have ever photographed for a wedding between the dome, beautiful and gigantic teal green doors and beautiful pathways.
Maurice and Maggie ended their wedding day at the Hong Kong Flower Lounge where they had their tea ceremony and reception. Maurice’s sister in law emcee’d the evening and organized some wedding games with some other local friends. They were given free reign and Maurice and Maggie had no idea what they were up for and omg, it was insane. Stick in a bottle, Love Counts and my favorite, trivia questions. Friends and family threw in questions like “who is in control of the chequebook” and “who is the jokester”.
Weddings never get old even when many elements recur, each one takes a special form of it’s own. This is not possible without the bride and groom bringing together amazing people and talent to make their day happen. Special thanks to:
Ceremony: Marin County Civic Center
Hair and Makeup: Kat Louis
Flowers: Rafael Florist
A massive shout out to Naomi(Gispert-Arai), Maurice’s sister in law for being a trooper. She had been in hospital a couple days before the wedding but still helped prepare AND emcee’d the wedding!
