Practical Wedding Advice from Top San Francisco Wedding Planner: Cindy and David's Wedding at Asian Art Museum

We were back at the Asian Art Museum this summer, for Cindy and David's Asian-inspired wedding, working with many of our favorite people in the industry. Though we've produced numerous events there in the past, this was our very first time where we had both the ceremony and reception inside Samsung Hall. Fortunately, the museum now gives clients the option to buyout Samsung Hall for the whole day, which makes it possible to execute a lot of fantastic design ideas that otherwise may have been nixed due to the timing and logistics of the venue.

The wedding was held at the end of July, beginning at the lovely boutique Hotel Vitale, right across from the San Francisco Ferry Building...

Hotel Vitale is one of the best hotels for the bridal party to get ready in. Their circular and terrace suites are extremely spacious, with lots of natural light for beautiful photography and videography. It is conveniently located in the city, and close to many picturesque places nearby. For these reasons, many of our clients choose to stay there for their wedding.

Cindy and David had their "first look" on one of the terraces at the hotel, and they invited all of their bridal attendants to be present for that. It was a a clear and gorgeous day with a panoramic view of the bay right behind them!

They were picked up by a classic cable car trolley, and were whisked off to get some photos in front of San Francisco City Hall, before taking a stroll across civic center park to the red carpet that awaits them at the entrance of Asian Art Museum.

Guests arrived shortly after that, and were invited to walk up the awe-inspiring grand staircase, adorned with orchid-filled branches on modern white pedestals. Ushers passed out programs and ribbon wands before escorting guests to their seats inside Samsung Hall.

Cindy and David were married by their good friend Kathy, witnessed by all 210 of their guests. After sharing their first kiss as husband and wife, they led their guests out to the Loggia, where everyone feasted on elaborate hors d'oeurves created by Componere Fine Catering. The second floor museum galleries were opened for guests' enjoyment, as well as the Magnolia Photobooth (aka Magbooth) that remained busy throughout the evening.

While guests were enjoying the hour of art and libations, we were moving at lightening speed inside Samsung Hall to transform the room for dinner. It really takes a village to flip a room like that in an hour, and we sure had a great village for this wedding!

When we reopened the doors to Samsung Hall to invite guests in for dinner, everyone was in awe at how different the room looked from merely an hour ago.

For the dinner menu, Componere's culinary team started off with an Amuse course of shaved poached prawn, watermelon, mosaic, meyer lemon, and fried mint. The first course was a cherry tomatoes salad with crispy tofu croutons, compressed cucumber, black pepper candied bacon, opal basicl, and mizuna. For the main entree, guests indulged in a black garlic-red wine braised beef short rib, served with crispy buckwheat noodle cake and broccolini.

As if that wasn't enough, Componere set up their famous Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Bar after dinner, featuring ice cream made to order with -320 degree liquid nitrogen. Guests had a blast building their own sundaes there!

Ofcourse, to help guests work off all that extra calorie, DJ Jason Mitchell was kept busy all night long playing music that kept the dance floor crowded. During the dancing, Componere even passed out Momofuku Pork Buns to keep the energy high! Cindy and David stayed till the very end to bid their guests farewell, before retiring back to their lovely suite at Hotel Vitale...