Kelly Chau San Francisco Wedding Photographer

Be warned: this post is a a doozy! Patti & Alex have been waiting a tad bit for a sneak peak of their wedding, so this one is extra long just for them.

Patti & Alex were married on a typical San Francisco day with typical cold SF weather. But their wedding was anything but typical. Both raised in San Francisco, these two knew they wanted an authentic SF experience for their family and friends, complete with cable cars and a Chinese lion dance. And what better place to host a San Francisco wedding than the famous Fisherman’s Wharf? They planned their special day to PERFECTION. Not even the rain could dampen their spirits. In fact, it wouldn’t quite be a real San Francisco wedding without a little rain thrown in.

True to SF form, the overcast clouds set the tone for a gorgeous, moody wedding. I usually like to create some awesome black and whites during my post processing, but the light was so dreamy on Patti & Alex’s wedding day that the color just popped against the filtered sky. And the window light was amazing! I couldn’t bear to wipe out the color of these images. Even the paint on the walls at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf coordinated with her bridesmaid dresses and flowers. One would’ve thought that a professional wedding planner had a hand in this event, but Patti planned all the itty bitty details herself.

This wedding was a true labor of love. Most of Patti’s vendors were ‘friendors’, including her cousin who helped Patti look extra fab with gorgeous makeup and hair.

Patti is one crafty gal. She made her invitations, baked all of the wedding favors herself, and even sewed boutonnieres and corsage pins for her family.

Karen of SOMA Flowers did an AMAZING job with the floral design.

After venturing out a little ways from the hotel, I found this totally cute pocket of old shipyard buildings and we stopped to take some photos.

I live in SF and believe it or not, I’ve only ridden on a cable car two times in my life.

We found an empty rooftop to quickly snap some shots with the Transamerica building as a backdrop right before the rain came pouring down.

And we walked by the old Cannery on our way back to the ceremony… this was most definitely a quintessential San Francisco wedding!

Alex was part of a professional lion dancing organization in San Francisco. He performed in the SF Chinese New Year parade for many years, so they wanted to do something special for the guests and surprised them with a lion dancing performance. My first lion dance I’ve ever photographed at a wedding.Midway through the dance, Alex and one of his groomsmen jumped into one of the lion costume and performed a routine for Patti! I never realized what an athletic feat it is to jump around in that lion head.

Alex is a professional chef and Patti is a baker, so the food at this wedding was over-the-top delicious. Including the wedding cake baked by talented coworker, Amy, which was alternating layers of red velvet and passion fruit. If I had plastic wrap with me, I swear I would’ve lined my purse and took some home.

Thank you, Patti & Alex, for the awesome food and wonderful time! You guys rock!