Cultures Collide for a Gorgeous Wedding at the Bently Reserve

17 May 2013

Jen and Mike were both born and raised in San Francisco, and though they grew up in different cultures, they were united at a classic San Franciscan wedding.

Here's a detailed description by Jen, the bride, herself:

"We truly wanted to capture all the beauty that is San Francisco. Being a multicultural couple and second- and third-generation San Franciscans, we also wanted to celebrate some of our cultural traditions.

Although Mike and I grew up within different cultures (I'm Chinese and Mike is Italian), we had very similar upbringings and family values. This is why we wanted to stay true to our San Franciscan roots and have our wedding in the beautiful city we call home. When planning our wedding, Mike had already had his heart set on having our ceremony at the gorgeous St. Ignatius Church, right next to his alma mater, the University of San Francisco. With a church as beautiful as St. Ignatius, we had to follow it up with an amazing reception venue and were lucky to find the Bently Reserve. With its high ceilings, beautiful floors and a grand entrance staircase, I fell in love with it instantly! It was the absolute perfect venue for our San Franciscan wedding. After the locations were booked, our big day was easy to envision.

Hues of purple lit up the room with the help of romantic candlelight and elegant high floral arrangements. All the while, the sounds of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole completed the classic ambiance. We used a motif of the iconic San Francisco skyline as the central element to a lot of the graphics in the wedding: on the the cake, save-the-dates, thank-you cards, even for the dance floor lighting. To pay homage to my Chinese heritage, I had a couple of surprises for my guests–our grand entrance was accompanied by an energetic lion dance performance, and I changed into a Cheongsam (a Chinese dress from the 1920s) for the bouquet toss and the rest of the evening. Even Mike wasn't told about my dress!

Through several DIY projects (including table numbers, veil, and invitations), we managed to put together a beautiful, timeless and fun wedding in true San Francisco style. I hope you love it as much as we did!"

Photography | Tracy Wong

Dress | Maggie Sottero

Shoes | Badgley Mischka

Veil | Bride’s mom

Cheongsam (Chinese Dress) | Dragon Seed

Bridesmaids Dresses | Donna Morgan

Wedding Coordinator | Ashley Smith, Buzzworthy Events SF

Flowers | Laura Auyeung, Poppy’s Petalworks

Hair | Belle By Marine

Makeup | Chesca Rosello

Church | St. Ignatius Church

Reception Venue | Bently Reserve