Experience the joy and love as four local couples open up about the meaningful stories behind their unforgettable wedding days.
Rachel Meyer & Justin Bruening
Triple S Ranch, Calistoga, May 18, 2024
When Justin Bruening proposed to his college sweetheart, Rachel Meyer, whom he met at Syracuse University, during a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, the day didn’t go as planned. “We were going to do a summit tour of Mauna Kea, and Justin had arranged to propose during sunset and have the tour guides take pictures,” Rachel recalls. “However, things were thrown into disarray when we landed to many missed calls and texts saying the tour had been canceled due to weather.” Fortunately, Justin quickly improvised, proposing the next day on a beautiful black sand beach. “Luckily, there was a random German photographer nearby who took pictures of it all happening!” Rachel says.
On the big day, however, everything exceeded the San Francisco couple’s expectations. With its grand Victorian house, rustic barns and cozy cottages, Triple S Ranch in Calistoga proved to be an ideal setting for Justin and Rachel’s garden party-themed celebration. Colorful, festive balloons floated in the property’s swimming pool during cocktail hour, when guests (many of whom were traveling to the Napa area for the first time) enjoyed three of the couple’s favorite drinks — the classic old fashioned, dirty martini and hibiscus mezcal margarita — along with local Napa Valley wines. A bounty of fragrant floral arrangements embellished the reception tables, where guests dined on local, seasonal farm-to-table fare, including parmesan soufflé potatoes with applewood smoked bacon; pasta with wild mushrooms, spinach, thyme and a parmesan-truffle cream sauce; and balsamic-glazed salmon (all gluten-free per Rachel’s request). And after dinner, guests danced the night away to tunes by Ideateam, a band that the couple had first heard at a free concert in Sausalito the summer before their wedding. “We wanted to make sure we got a local funk band instead of a traditional wedding cover band, as Justin plays guitar and loves live music,” Rachel says. “So many of our friends and family said they felt like they were at a concert, and that it was the best wedding band they’ve ever seen!”
Details
Venue: Triple S Ranch
Wedding planning and catering: Off the Beaten Path
Photography: OneLove Photography
Videography: DP Weddings
Floral: The Blonde Rose
Rentals: Encore Events
Signage: Shimmer & Stain and Off The Beaten Path Weddings/@stephanierenaeinspirations
Dress: Chosen by KYHA
Groom’s suit: Suitsupply
Hair and makeup: Beauty on Set
Music: Ideateam
Invitations: Minted
Cake: Sweetie Pies
Transportation: Napa Valley Wine Country Tours
Photobooth: Blooming Photo Booth
Jason Sims & Karla Schlesinger
Travis Marina, Sausalito, September 13, 2024
After initially meeting while working together at Buckeye Roadhouse in Mill Valley, Jason Sims and Karla Schlesinger dated for more than 10 years before tying the knot. Since those early days, when Jason was a manager of the restaurant and Karla was lead hostess, both their relationship and careers grew — Jason is now managing partner of Bungalow 44 and Corner Bar, while Karla is manager and bartender at the two establishments. “We felt like a married couple for years and didn’t feel like we needed to get married,” Jason says. “But a couple of years ago, it really clicked for both of us that we wanted to celebrate our relationship — and celebrate it with the most important people in our lives.”
While the couple got engaged in Paris, they opted to celebrate their nuptials closer to home to accommodate their 160 mostly local guests — and they found that the Travis Marina in Sausalito fit their needs perfectly. “It’s not stuffy or pretentious and allows you to bring the party to them instead of having to fit into what they do,” Jason says. To that end, Bungalow 44 chef Byron Rodas created the passed appetizers, Sausalito-based Siren Sisters provided the paella main course, reggae DJs Epicenter Sound System kept the guests moving on the dance floor and friends chipped in to help with details ranging from setting up the altar to arranging flowers. Making the event even more personal, the couple’s former boss and current partner, Peter Schumacher, officiated the ceremony — held on a sunny September day with fog trickling through the Golden Gate Bridge. “We spend most of our time taking care of others, which we love doing, but on this day, our friends and families really wanted us to take center stage,” Jason says. “For once, we were able to let our guard down and soak it all in. It felt so good!”
Details
Venue: Travis Marina
Photography: Lou Lesko and Philip Pavliger
Videography: Tim Parker
Floral: Shugar Events
Rentals: A Party Center
Signage: Zazzle.com
Dress: Maggie Sottero
Groom’s suit: Banana Republic
Hair and makeup: Vanessa Kauth, Yara Hair Studio
Music: Epicenter Sound System
Invitations: Minted
Kasia Pawlowska and Mac Cregan
Glen Oaks Big Sur, Big Sur, July 13, 2024
As the date approached for Kasia Pawlowska and Mac Cregan’s May wedding at Glen Oaks Big Sur, everything was on track — that is, until heavy rains in March caused a section of Highway 1 in Big Sur to tumble into the ocean, closing the road. Unsure how to proceed, the couple weighed their options. “We couldn’t chance the road not being open in time and ended up having to move the wedding — Glen Oaks was so accommodating,” says Kasia, a former editor at Marin Magazine who is now a local editor at SFGATE. “We ended up only having to swap several vendors, for the better, and got married on July 13, which was serendipitous. When we were writing our vows, I realized that was the same day we met at the Little Shamrock in San Francisco six years earlier.”
When the big day finally arrived nearly two months after the initial wedding date, the couple was blown away by the beauty and emotions of the day. Kasia and Mac said their vows under an archway draped in flowers by Laughin’ Gal Floral surrounded by redwoods and 80 of their nearest and dearest family and friends.
Following the ceremony, the celebration was filled with personalized touches that reflected the couple’s lives together. Artist Nathaniel Russell designed the custom signage, as well as the save-the-dates and invites. Guests dined on artfully displayed, locally sourced fare provided by a Taste of Elegance Catering & Events, and then they packed the dance floor to a compilation of tunes representing the couple’s divergent and eclectic tastes created by Oakland-based DJ Graham LeBron, whom Mac had met through his work in the Bay Area music scene. “We sent him a massive 10-hour playlist, and he deftly navigated it to pull the perfect songs for all the right moments,” Mac says. In the end, Kasia says, she and Mac wouldn’t change a thing. “Most of our guests stayed onsite at Glen Oaks, so the whole weekend felt like a big summer camp, popping around between cabins in the midst of redwoods by the river,” she says. “People kept telling us how it just felt like a party with good friends and not a wedding — it was the ultimate compliment!”
Details
Venue: Glen Oaks Big Sur
Event Planning and Design: Diane Allen, Big Sur Weddings
Photography: Jamie LeMaire Photography
Floral: Laughin’ Gal Floral
Catering: A Taste of Elegance Catering & Events
Cake: Edith Meyer Wedding Cakes
Music: Graham LeBron
Officiant: Soaring Starkey
Signage and invitation art: Nathaniel Russell
Dress and bow: Kamperett
Groom’s suit: Todd Snyder
Rentals: Chic Event Rentals
Hair and makeup: Kelly Jo Makeup and Hair
Invitation printer: ChromaGraphics
Alex & Jamie
Marin Art and Garden Center, Ross, June 30, 2024
A true pandemic love story, software engineer Alex and data scientist Jamie met on the Hinge dating app and spent their first date on a socially distanced bike ride, yet they felt an instant connection. “I felt so comfortable talking with him about everything, from our families to our hobbies and friends,” Jamie says.
Two and a half years later, they got engaged at Fort Funston in San Francisco on a cliff overlooking the ocean and started planning their wedding. The San Francisco-based couple visited venues across the Bay Area, but the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross easily won them over with its lush landscaping and convenient location. “We wanted our guests to be outside for the wedding, and the Marin Art and Garden Center grounds were naturally varied and beautiful, with wildflowers along the paths, shaded by trees,” Jamie says.
On their wedding day, Alex and Jamie celebrated their love for each other — as well as their mutual appreciation for Korean dramas — by playing music from one of their favorite shows for the processional. “The series is about a couple that rekindled their marriage after initial hardships and miscommunications, and we thought it was a great representation of real commitment and enduring love,” Jamie says.
After sharing their vows in front of 90 guests, including college friends who had flown in for the occasion, it was time to celebrate. Guests dined on Tuscan cuisine from San Rafael’s Il Davide restaurant, danced and sang karaoke tunes. “It was really special to see our loved ones from across the country all in one place,” Jamie says. “For some folks, we only got to see them once or twice in the past few years due to the pandemic. We were able to catch up with so many people close to us, and it was also fun to see them mingling with each other and making new connections.”
Details
Venue: Marin Art and Garden Center
Photography: Inez J Photography
Content creation: Always a Bride
Event coordination: Whitney Zhou Events
Catering and rentals: Il Davide
Dress: Lace & Liberty
Groom’s suit: Indochino
Bridesmaid dress: Azazie
Hair and makeup: Christy’s Bridal Studio
Music: Bay Area DJ & Karaoke Event Services
Invitations: The Wishing Well Workshop
Lotus Abrams has covered everything from beauty to business to tech in her editorial career, but it might be writing about her native Bay Area that inspires her most. She lives with her husband and two daughters in the San Francisco Peninsula, where they enjoy spending time outdoors at the area’s many open spaces protected and preserved by her favorite local nonprofit, the Peninsula Open Space Trust.
