An Intimate, Blush-Inspired Wedding At Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, California

“I have never seen myself as a romantic girl, but that totally changed when it came to our wedding,” says Xuewei Xia. She and her husband, Liang Tian, were both born in China, came to the US for school, then stayed for their jobs. Being so far from home, Xuewei and Liang missed a lot of weddings and special occasions with their friends and family. “I always told myself at least I will see them all together at my own wedding,” she explains. “I eagerly looked forward to creating these beautiful memories together with them.”

The wedding planning process began with Xuewei finding her dream wedding dress at Vera Wang, which set the tone for creating the rest of her wedding vision. Legion of Honor at the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco was then chosen as the wedding venue, and Jennie Janzen of True North Event Co. came onboard as the wedding planner. “With her help, I found my amazing photographer Jerry Yoon, videographer Weddings on Films, calligrapher Barbara, makeup artist Fiona, and furniture rental Standard Party Rentals,” says Xuewei.

After a worrisome wedding day morning with stormy weather and a bridal earring debacle, the rest of the day went smoothly. The bride and groom had their first look and traveled around picturesque San Francisco in a motorized cable car before arriving at the ceremony. “Despite all the stresses of the morning, I realized the moment was finally here,” recalls the bride. “I was so moved while walking down the aisle with my dad. I saw my husband on the other end of the aisle, looking at me with a warm smile. All my dearest friends were standing there as my bridesmaids, waiting for me as well. That was the most touching moment on my wedding day. I cried a lot of times during our vows, because I was so happy to finally be in this moment in front of all our loved ones.”

The following reception unfolded seamlessly with a great dinner, a fantastic wedding cake, and a perfectly performed first dance between the bride and groom. Their guests noticed all the details they had careful pieced together, such as the beautiful calligraphy on the escort cards. The bride also designed the place cards, her father wrote the names of each Chinese guest, and the cards were displayed on porcelain bunny cardholders – a nod to the bride being born in the year of the rabbit. Since the groom was born in the year of the dragon, gold cocktail stirrers with dinosaurs were used as well.

“I was so pleased with how all the details came together perfectly and created the most romantic feeling I’ve ever had – on the most memorable day for my family, my husband, and me,” says Xuewei.