Comments from the bride
“Steven and I met in Bordeaux, France in 2008 when I was studying abroad. After living together in Paris, I moved home to the Bay Area and Steven followed. Thanks to endless visa delays, he didn’t arrive in San Francisco until just a week before the wedding after what turned out to be a nail-biting whirlwind of planning – minus the confirmation of one very important RSVP.
“The beauty of the groom arriving just in the nick of time is it makes all the other details feel very minor. French groomsman inexplicably shows up with a grey suit, not a blue one? No problem. We forgot until the last possible minute to order the favors? It’s fine!
“The Outdoor Art Club is a turn of the century craftsman style building with a lush garden, tucked in downtown Mill Valley. It was the perfect space for our small ceremony and reception.
“The meal was catered by Jacqueline Schwartz of R.S.V.P Catering who specializes in seasonal, local and delicious. The flowers by Anne Mendenhall were the precise mix of wild and romantic. Our favorite detail though, were the elusive, last minute favors: sea salt caramels. They were an ode to Steven’s native Brittany, handmade to order by Penelope Lao who is a San Francisco based pastry chef. To wrap them, we made origami packets from printed maps of Paris.
“It all ended with a 3 foot croquembouche, dancing, and lots of bourbon consumed at Mill Valley’s infamous 2 AM club where we laughed the night away with dear friends.”
