Julia Morgan Ballroom Wedding Film | Rachael & David

It was such a treat for us to create this Wedding Film for Rachael and David, who were married at the elegant Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. The women got ready at the Lowe’s Hotel, walking distance from the venue. It was darling to see them all in matching robes. After Rachel’s mother and sister helped her into her gown, her mom led her father down the hallway to see Rachael for the first time with her hand over her eyes. It was a very tender and emotional moment, which made everyone start to tear-up. This family is so loving and close, all the special moments between them were ones for me to capture and to remember. We then left for the Embarcadero where Rachel and David would have their “first look.”  I always feel so nervous for my groom, waiting with anticipation, but David showed no fear and after seeing her in the splendid gown, raised his fists to the sky in a victorious stance. The cloudy skies above the Bay Bridge made for beautiful contrast to the bridesmaids’ lilac gowns. Rain was on the horizon so everyone carried cute matching umbrellas which made for charming props.  The ceremony took place at the bottom of the Merchants Exchange Building, a classic building in the Financial District. Cocktail hour and the reception were held at the historic Julia Morgan Ballroom, upstairs in the building. The evening kicked off with a raucous hora that set the tone for a night of celebration. ThePop Rockss played an incredible show for the guests with the dance floor bursting at the seams. It was a night to remember.

From Rachael: “Rachael and David met on October 6, 2013—just one month after David moved to San Francisco. A few days prior David had sent Rachael a message on an online dating site (OkCupid for the aficionados). David initially thought he had struck out when he saw she had read the message but didn’t immediately reply. In reality, Rachael had excitedly shown the message to her friend (and now bridesmaid) Jessica to enlist her help crafting the perfect reply to match David’s wit and charm. After some back-and-forth, Rachael and David made plans to meet up for “Coffee+Walk with Rachael” (the actual entry in David’s Google Calendar). Their first date went well and was filled with coffee (iced Americano for him, iced latte for her), conversation (including the story of Rachael’s infamous bullet wound), and great views of the San Francisco Bay (and each other). Regretfully, Rachael had to cut the date short since she purposely made other plans later that day—her strategy to have an escape if David wasn’t her type (but apparently he was). They made plans to meet up again later that week, and from there the rest is history. On April 2, 2016, David proposed to Rachael in the Marin Headlands during a hike to one of Rachael’s favorite vistas. The view was perfect, with downtown San Francisco and Alcatraz to the left and the Golden Gate Bridge to the right. They were surrounded by Rachael’s family (her brother Spencer was there in spirit!), who were all in on the plan and had been instructed to take pictures. After Rachael responded “Of course” to David’s proposal, her sister Molly pulled out a surprise bottle of champagne and everyone toasted to their future together. We chose to get married at the Julia Morgan Ballroom because we wanted to get married in downtown San Francisco, but we were looking for something with more character than a basic hotel ballroom. We quickly fell in love with the beautiful design and architecture of the Julia Morgan Ballroom, and they had the date we wanted to get married available, so we snatched it up. It also doesn’t hurt that the entire ceremony and reception is inside, so we don’t have to worry about rain ruining the big day!”

Wedding Coordination: Alice Spitalny and Andrea Munson, Venue: Julia Morgan Ballroom and The Merchant’s Exchange, Gown: Anne Barge, Bridal boutique: Kinsely James, Bridesmaids’ gowns: Bella Bridesmaids Floral design: Ampersand, Band: Pop Rocks Make-up: Li Ann

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