Att: San Franciscoans - Help me plan my destination wedding!

[tboz]

Hi everyone,

So I am planning to have my destination wedding at the San Fran City Hall in July of this year. At first, it was just an idea for us to elope while on a trip to the US, but then I decided that I really really wanted my mummy there... So now FI and I along with a good part of our immediate family are all making the trip over, which as much as I love puts me under a lot of pressure to make our day special not only for us, but for all of our family who have chosen to join us on our special day

Which leads me to you guys. I have a whole list of things I need to prepare and have no idea where to look! I keep going round and round in circles so thought I would ask you kind folks for any tips or suggestions/recommendations. So here goes. If you could help me with any of the following it would be greatly appreciated!!

1. Photographer- there is so many to choose from! Ideally I would like someone who has experience shooting in the city hall building, and I like a more photojournalistic style. I have looked at numerous photographers and their blogs in the area, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations??

2. Make-up artist/hairstylist- preferably someone who could come to the house that I will be staying at.

3. Florist?

4. Websites to look up a house we could rent for the week. At the moment there could be anywhere from 10-15 of us, and we were thinking it may be a good idea to rent a big house for 4 or 5 days before and after the wedding?

5.As a surprise to our guests, we came up with the idea of renting a cable car for the day to take us to see the sights

Is this possible???

Thanks so much again for your help!

 

[tboz]

Anyone???

 

[neatfreak]

Elley Photography-She is fantastic. Shot my wedding and a few other PSers-at least one at City Hall IIRC. She's a wonderful, kind person to work with too. Tell her you heard about her here, she'll know who sent you.

Website:

http://www.elleyphotography.com

We used a wonderful florist called Out of the Weeds. She did a BEAUTIFUL bouquet for me that can be seen in my wedding photos. She was really kind too.

http://web.mac.com/moconnor17/Out_of_the_Weeds_Flowers/Welcome.html

I had hair and makeup done at Cinta Salon which is near Union Square (1 or 2 BART stops away from City Hall). Not sure if they would have someone who could come to you but they did a fabulous job.

We rented a house for my wedding too but it couldn't fit 15. But I *think* my parents found it on VRBO.com.

Hope that helps!

 

[tboz]

Thanks neatfreak! I just had a look at your wedding pics and they are gorgeous!!!! I will definitely look into your photographer.

Btw you have great taste. My partner and I were looking at your pics and the dress and veil I want are almost exactly the same as yours. The cable car pics are definitely on my list as well

 

[neatfreak]

Awww thanks that is so sweet of you to say. I loved every moment of it. We had a really fantastic day. And since then Elley has taken pictures of my twins twice now-and they are gorgeous too. Can you believe I was her first wedding? Her pictures have only gotten better since then IMO. The pictures she took of my kids this year are really fantastic.

Anyway, if it helps my veil was made by Dorene at Unveiled Bridal designs. She custom made it for me and I loved it. My dress was Casablanca 1831 but made without beading.

And we rented the cable car actually for a few hours after our lunch reception (at Greens restaurant-GORGEOUS view of the GG bridge and great food. It is a vegetarian restaurant though so beware if your family loves meat). It was really fantastic. Like $700 all included IIRC-but the best part about it was that we took it over the GG bridge and all over San Francisco. The "real" cable cars are full of people all the time and are very restricted to certain routes. We used DBA cable cars and they were very professional and easy to deal with.

So if your family is going to be joining you it's a fun way to spend an afternoon. Our guests loved it and it was a nice "thank you" to be able to take everyone over the GG bridge and to a few of the San Francisco sights.

Hope that helps!

 

[Gypsy]

Neatfreak has impeccible taste so I''d go with her recommendations first. If a vendor is not available, let us know and we''ll suggest others. I really loved my photographers as well www.artofemotion.com but they are distance out from SF (though they do shoot weddings there), but if Eli isn''t available you can call Becky (Head photographer at Art of Emotion) and if she can''t help you, she will have great suggestions as she very well connected in the Nor Cal photography neighborhood.

For makeup artists... mine was fabulous, but pricey. www.professionalmakeupartistry.com and her services will probably be more than you need for a small intimate wedding. But she works with other makeup artists and is such a doll that I know she would be able to give you a couple of leads. My name is Layla and you can tell both Maria and Becky that I said hi.

If you need anything else, let us know. We love food too, so if you need help with a restuarant suggestion or anything, we''d be happy to lend a hand.

 

[tboz]

Thanks again neatfreak and Gypsy! So much to organise in 6 months!

I promise to keep you updated!

neatfreak- have you got any contact info for DBA cable car rental? I can''t seem to find any contact details for them???
also another question for you: when you rented the cable car, did your family and friends travel with you the whole time you took photos? I''m worried they may get bored when the photos don''t include them

 

[ElizabethRose]

Mia1811 eloped in SF City Hall, maybe she will see your thread and give some advice. Check out her story and gorgeous pro-pics for inspiration.

Mia1811''s link