Last week, I had the pleasure of coordinating a big wedding I had been working on for many months – and not only me! Especially Alexa, the bride, and her Mom, Cindy, were very actively involved in every aspect of the planning process. To be precise: Alexa had been working on it for all of her engagement time. Sixteen months! And finally, finally, the Great Day arrived – and what a day it was! San Francisco and the Bay showed themselves from their very best side, under a clear blue sky, golden Sun, and light breeze; a dream come true.

Let’s step back in time, at least for one day: to Rehearsal Dinner! Sean’s, the groom’s, parents had invited not only the bridal party, closest friends and family, but also all out-of-town guests (and those were many!) to Il Fornaio Restaurant on the SF waterfront, an Italian institution in the City. And with good reason: the food is just delicious, and the indoor-outdoor setup has so much atmosphere. When darkness fell, the setting turned just magical:

Guests feasted and celebrated until nearly midnight – and got into the right festive mood for the Great Day ahead!

That day began for the bride and her bridesmaids at Milvali Hair Salon, from where they arrived at the wedding venue, the General’s Residence at Fort Mason. Fort Mason had originally been built as a military outpost to protect the City of San Francisco, and our beautiful wedding venue, built in 1878, was the mansion where the Commanding General resided with his family. Hence the name, and hence the architectural beauty and luxury! The General’s Residence overlooks the SF Bay with Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, and Alexa and Sean chose to tie the knot on the back lawn; see above.

So, Alexa and her eight bridesmaids enjoyed a late-morning treatment in our on-site beauty salon, receiving professional make-up by Jennifer Granatelli and her assistant in the former General’s living room.

Then it was time to get into that fantasy of a wedding dress – Reem Acra, with crystal embellishments – and present herself to her groom:

After that, I had to rush the two out to the back lawn where 200 guests had gathered in anticipation of the ceremony, officiated by a long-time family friend and teacher of Sean’s, Kathy Gannon Briggs.

“You may now kiss the bride!” –

Another romantic image at sunset, captured by our wonderful photographer Jennifer and, of course, videographer Gusto:

At the same time, the groomsmen were having fun with one of the antique cannons, left over from military times:

But: you haven’t seen the bouquet yet, have you? It’s a labor of love by the bride’s Mom, and it took more than a year to make:

And the rings…

Aren’t these beautiful?

And here is the official wedding photo:

From there – off to an elegant cocktail reception, followed by a festive dinner, provided by Carrie Dove Catering. Guests found their seats on escort cards, each hung on a single peacock feather, forming an impressive arrangement:

In keeping with the “Vintage/Glamour San Francisco” theme, guests enjoyed food stations showcasing iconic San Francisco neighborhoods like “North Beach” (Italian), “The Mission” (Mexican) and “Chinatown” as well as a blue-and-golden dessert buffet themed on another San Francisco institution: Ghirardelli chocolates. The tables were decorated with jewel-toned flower arrangements by Diana from Stems Floral Boutique who also provided the bridesmaids’ bouquets. All that glamour and indulgence was complemented by light-hearted fun at the Grand Entrance of the Bridal Party – look here:

Guests had a blast with a photo booth provided by Swag Bunch:

More merriment to follow with DJ Brian Holmes (Denon and Doyle Entertainment) and his rousing dance music, kicked off by this romantic First Dance:

Sheer happiness – wishing you the traditional Italian blessing quoted by Alexa’s Mom in her toast: “May you fall in love many, many times – always with each other!”

Wedding Coordination and design: A Day Like No Other, jutta@daylikenoother.com

Many, many thanks to my “Dream Team:”

Kathy Gannon Briggs, officiant;

Brianna Hussey, Site Coordinator brianna@fortmason.org

Jennifer Granatelli, jgranatelli@gmail.com

Milvali Hair Salon, Alicia – www.milvali.com

Carrie Dove Catering, Amanda Fabbri, amanda@carriedovecatering.com

Photographer: Jennifer Michelson, jennifer@agirlandacameraphotography.com

Videographer: Gusto Lopez, gusto@thelifeindigital.com

Floral arrangements: Diana Rasta, Stems Floral Boutique, diana@stemsfloralboutique.com

Entertainment and Lighting: Brian Holmes, brix@djay.com

Photo booth: www.swagbunch.com

Transportation: City Express Limousine Service, cityexpresslimo@yahoo.com

What’s the most unusual wedding you can imagine? For example, do you know someone who got married on top of the Golden Gate Bridge? Crazy, right?

Well, I do! Greg and Oh. And their wedding way up there was just the proverbial “tip of the iceberg” of their incredible love story. Want to hear it? Here we go:

On the day he turned fifty, Greg sat down all by himself and took stock of the first half of his life.  Life had been good to him. He had enjoyed a succession of happy relationships. He had always followed his passions and been successful in what he did. Starting with a Masters degree in Education, he had become a public school teacher. Then he had studied Classical Composition and finally found his passion: he studied Screenwriting at NY University and achieved an MA degree here as well. He was now teaching Screenwriting at UC Berkeley. His first feature film had been accepted at the renowned Sydney film festival. Having become a SF firefighter – and just having been promoted to Lieutenant – had allowed Greg flexible work hours and a steady income to support his artistic pursuits. So far – perfect.

And yet – the most important dream of his life still remained unfulfilled: to find his partner for life and have a family. On that very day, Greg decided to make this dream his absolute priority for the next years of his life. And – unsurprisingly – he tackled this new task with his usual systematic approach and perseverance.  He realized that at his age his chances of finding a partner young enough to still have children were slim at best, especially in a youth-centric Western culture like the US or Europe. On the other hand, he had always admired and also studied Asian cultures, especially the Thai Buddhist culture with its emphasis on peace and harmony. That’s where he would start looking for the perfect mate: College-educated, sharing his passion for art, music, and literature, non-smoker. To maximize his chances, he chose an online dating service.

Little did he know that at the very same moment, at the other end of the world – in Thailand, actually – Oh, a College-educated young accountant in search of the perfect husband and practicing Buddhist, was making a wish list of her own: College-educated, Western culture, non-smoker. She had always admired the Jewish culture with its emphasis on learning and education – so, preferably Jewish (which Greg happens to be…). Age difference no problem. To maximize her chances, she chose an online dating service… the same one as Greg!

Done deal? Not at all. At their first date, the two were not overly impressed with one another. They both kept looking. But still – their mutual interest was piqued. They stayed in touch via phone and Skype. It took months until their first shy kiss, and it took several more visits of Greg to Thailand to have their encounter blossom into a romance. On November 1^st, 2010, Greg proposed on exotic Phiphi Island, and Oh let herself be persuaded to follow Greg to America.

As unusual as their whole story is – just as unusual was their wedding, truly one-of-a-kind. They wanted it to happen on top of the world – well, at least on top of the Golden Gate Bridge! As a San Francisco firefighter, Greg was able to obtain the exceptional permission for a site visit at the top of the South Tower on June 1^st, 2011, accompanied by his bride and his officiant (his colleague and friend Mark, who had become an ordained minister just to be able to marry the two). Up they rode in the tiny, drafty elevator to a platform some 750 feet above the water of the Bay; and from there they had to climb up a metal ladder. Oh, totally fearless, kicked off her high heels, climbed up, and got married – barefoot! But married they got, look here:

Their long, tortuous journey had finally reached its destination. That same evening, they raised their glasses at an intimate wedding dinner with family only:

A few months later, the two invited friends and colleagues to a belated wedding dinner at the romantic Forest Hill Clubhouse in San Francisco. Oh, a terrific cook (another passion she shares with Greg!) had insisted on cooking everything herself, and the whole party feasted outside under old trees and the stars.  And this year, the two got married just once more – in a traditional Buddhist ceremony in Oh’s native Thailand, in Bangkok:

They stayed on for a little while – Greg found a new job as a rickshaw driver…

well, just kidding… and then they enjoyed their real Honeymoon in Myanmar, concluding the yearlong wedding festivities! Oh has meanwhile settled into San Franciscan married life, assisted by her new four-legged “stepdaughter” Sadie, Greg’s Yellow Labrador Retriever. Now life is really good for the three of them!