San Francisco Conservatory Wedding

With well over four years blogging beautiful wedding after beautiful wedding, I’m yet to come across a more perfect venue to get married than a place called the Conservatory of Flowers. The name alone exudes romance and whimsy! Andrea and JJ’s wedding captured by the talents of Delbarr Moradi was just that, with a pinch of modern and a dab of vintage. This foodie couple chose their favorite cheeses to make some yummy centerpieces!

From the bride, Andrea: We really wanted our wedding to be 100% reflective of us. Our personal style is a little vintage, a little modern, and a little non-traditional. We wanted to show our appreciation to our family and friends who were able to make it and have it be as comfortable and fun for them as possible. We lived in Seattle for a few years before our wedding and it holds a very dear place in our hearts. We wanted to pay homage to the city by incorporating some of our favorite things like cheese, salami, and coffee.

Our biggest DIY project was curating all of our centerpieces. We knew we didn’t want to do any floral centerpieces , due to the cost, so we had to get creative. We absolutely LOVE cheese and salami so we figured why not edible centerpieces! We bought $200 worth of natural slate from Lowes and we hand broke, washed, and sealed all of them. We adhered wooden feet and felt pads to all of them so they would be at varied heights. We also asked Fork & Spoon to get our favorite Salumi Salami and Beecher’s cheese for the centerpieces. We added a few of our other favorites and garnished with Cornichons, grapes, and olives. We absolutely loved them! We also were beyond lucky to have our cousin’s hand-make some treats for us. Dave and Amber McAuley made Cousin’s Beer that we served at the bar, and Genny McAuley took some of the beer and made homemade mustard as our favors. It was the most amazing gift =)

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Start early, stay organized, and have fun! When we started the wedding planning, I promised myself that I would stay completely present and enjoy the entire process. It is meant to be fun and exciting, not stressful. I started a spreadsheet and to do list and just started chipping away at it. I equated it to moving. You find yourself in a room full of boxes and its a little overwhelming trying to figure out which box to start with first, but once the first one is opened everything just starts falling into place.

A Tuscan Inspired Wedding with Pastel Hues at California’s Filoli Gardens

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Music:
Prelude and Seating of the Parents: Sort of, Ingrid Michaelson
Processional: Welcome Home Reprise, Radical Face
Recessional: The Times They Are A-Changin’, Bob Dylan
Entering the Reception: Carried Away, Passion Pit
First Dance: Pianoman, Billy Joel
Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance: Had to Say I Love You in a Song, Jim Croce
Last Dance: Lean on Me, Bill Withers

Wedding Location: San Francisco, CA / Wedding Photographer: Delbarr Moradi / Bride’s Shoes: Betsey Johnson / Wedding Invitations: Oliver Hutton, screen printed at Forth Rite Printing / Day-of-Coordinator: I had an unbelievable day-of contact through my caterer, Fork & Spoon Productions, LeAnn Rascke / Florist: LeAnn at Fork & Spoon hand-made all of our bouquets, boutonnieres, and accent flowers / Wedding Venue: Conservatory of Flowers / Wedding Dress: Melissa Sweet Dora, purchased it at Glamour Closet / Makeup: Benefits Cosmetics, Suzette / Bridesmaid Dresses: Eel & Ermine / Groom’s Suit: JCrew, knit tie from Lit Knit / DJ: NorCal Pro Sound / Wedding Caterer: Fork & Spoon Productions. Wine and appetizers prior to the ceremony, tray-passed drinks and appetizers during cocktail hour, and a three-course dinner. The three options were: Alaskan Halibut, Meyer Ranch New York Steam, and Brenwood Corn and Bellwether Farms Cannelloni / Cake Topper: Knotting Wood / Transportation: Uber Car / Linens: La Tavola Linen