August 13, 2012

Wedding at the California Academy of Sciences

We started our 2012 wedding season off with a really fun, untraditional wedding at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. For those of you who are interested in a venue that's architecturally stunning and different in the most amazing ways, this is definitely the venue to consider. Even without any elaborate decor, you're bound to wow your guests the minute they step inside the museum.

Our clients, Kate and Brian, were self proclaimed "geeky techies" who wanted a vibrant wedding without the bells and whistles. They wanted something different. Something fun to bring all of their families and friends in one cool space to party away without the pressure of sitting through a long ceremony followed by a multi-course meal and endless speeches. Having met at Burning Man, they were all about self-expression and a wedding that would reflect their dynamic personalities.

Guests were greeted by the famous gigantic T. Rex as soon as they entered the main lobby of the museum, which was closed to the public by that time. They were ushered into the Piazza, a floor to ceiling glass enclosed room right behind the T. Rex, where the ceremony was held.




We used the museum's sleek red and grey chairs for the ceremony, and Hunt Littlefield created unique floral pieces that went perfectly with the existing "Living Wall" from the museum, which was used as the backdrop for the ceremony. Anchoring the bride and groom were two large free-standing Balinese umbrellas from the bride's travel. We also rented a baby grand piano, where the bride's uncle played beautiful pieces for the ceremony. 




After the ceremony, guests were led through the museum's rainforest to enjoy the exhibits there, before they took the elevator downstairs to the aquarium, where they were greeted by tray passed beverages from Taste Catering.



The entire cocktail hour was held in the aquarium, and one of the wow factor for guests was the 16' sushi bar with made to order sushi from the chefs behind it. A little quirky for some people, maybe, but Kate and Brian loved this idea from the very beginning and apparently, they knew their guests would too! 






There were docents all around to provide knowledge and information to guests regarding the various exhibits, which made the entire experience much more interactive and interesting. The children, especially, loved being able to touch the starfishes!





After the cocktail hour, we invited guests up to the ground level again, for dinner. It was important to Kate and Brian that their guests got to fully enjoy the museum, so they steered away from the formal seated dinner and toasts. Rather, they asked Taste Catering to create different food stations, allowing guests to move freely the entire time. We still had seating available for those that chose to be stationary while indulging in the food, but most did take the time to roam around the rest of the museum. 



Artist and Portrait Photographer Julian Cash was commissioned to set up his innovative light painting station to entertain guests, which is a "creative photographic technique that paints moving light in the dark and tells a story with the beautiful projected images." (As a side note, Julia and his troupe were recently on America's Got Talent and thoroughly impressed the judges!)

During the cocktail hour, the Piazza was turned around to become the dancing and entertainment space post-dinner. Renown cellist Zoe Keating gave a beautiful and astounding performance before we officially opened up the dance floor.






African Hall also opened up after dinner, as what Kate referred to as the "chill area" for guests to lounge around and enjoy dessert. Though the penguins were asleep by then, we couldn't resist using them as a backdrop for the cake cutting!






There was never a moment of dullness at this wedding, as everywhere that guests looked, they were awe-inspired by all that the museum had to offer. Together with the extraordinary food from Taste Catering, the remarkable floral arrangements by Hunt Littlefield, the beautiful performances by the various artists, and the spectacular lighting by Radiant Atmospheres, the guests were treated to a one of a kind wedding exactly the way Kate and Brian had envisioned it to be.

Photography credit for the images on this blog post: Gertrude and Mabel Photography

A big shout out to the team that made it happen:

Event Planning + Production: Jubilee Lau Events
Floral Design: Hunt Littlefield
Caterer + Wedding Cake: Taste Catering
Linens: La Tavola
Rentals + Drapery: Hartmann Studios
Makeup: JBeautique
Hair Styling: Curl Up & Dye Salon
Piano Rental: Pro Piano
DJs: Friends of Kate and Brian



1 comment:

  1. This sf event venue is really very dazzling and attractive place. It does really feel very good to celebrate our parties under water.

    sf event venue

    ReplyDelete