San Francisco Bride in the City: Vera Devera
Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 10:07AM Tweet 
Style Unveiled, as hard as we try, knows that sometimes it takes a woman who's walking in your same 'heels' to help with something like planning a day as big as a wedding. And while we will always be here to help with inspirational photos, real weddings, vendor suggestions, venue ideas, our Perfect 10 lists, and more ... we want to bring you something priceless ... Advice from brides who are doing the same as you (right now!!) ... PLANNING THEIR WEDDING :) Our blog addition, Bride in the City will give you inside info from other brides to help you along the way and make you feel like you're not the only one :) So ... get ready to bond with Bride in the City guest: Vera Devera
When did you become engaged?
April 18, 2009
When is the big day?
October 10, 2010
Who are the wedding vendors that you have already decided to hire?
We won our photography from Davina + Daniel -- an amazingly talented duo based out of Montreal, Quebec. We really dig their unusual POV and dreamy yet photojournalistic style. They will definitely up the ante!
Our caterer is our good friend, Chef Peter Jackson. I partner with Chef Jackson on hosting monthly pop-up supperclubs in offbeat venues so it made sense that he would cook for our wedding. On the menu includes porchetta (he's bringing a caja china to our site, which is essentially a huge box that you can roast a whole pig in!) which pays tribute to my filipino roots (porchetta is the Italian version of lechon, roast pork). To honor Fred's southern roots, Chef Jackson is cooking up shrimp n' grits with roasted sweet potatoes.
Alison Obayashi of Two for Two Cakes is baking her a two-tiered cake for us. One layer is called the Peanut Butter Cup, made of Chocolate Butter Cake,Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting,Salted Peanuts. The top tier is Aunt Bea's Banana Cake, made of Banana Cake, Heath Bar Toffee Bits, and Vanilla Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. YUM, right?
Fred is a musician (for weddings, in fact!) and we absolutely wanted live music for our reception. We turned to our friend, Quinn DeVeaux, and his band, the Blue Beat Review. He writes his own songs and does awesome covers of 50 and 60s blues, Americana, and R&B music. He will surely get our guests out of their seats!
Slow Jams (Shakirah Simley) invited me to La Cocina to help her make our wedding favors. Slow Jams is dedicated to creating small-batch artisan jams with local flair. We made strawberry-lavender jam and an onion-bacon relish (using Chef Peter's homemade hickory smoked bacon from Devil's Gulch Ranch). Her products are available at artisanal food store, Bi-Rite.
Ideal Floral Art Design is creating our personal flowers, including bouquets and boutonnieres. They are a couple of up-and-coming talented gals. I'm excited to have them incorporate a vintage brooch and lace into my bouquet.
I designed our wedding invitations but our Save-the-Dates were created by Lollipop Events and Design (now known as Alchemy). The Save-the-date was inspired by Fred's guitar and I even design the custom guitar pick bearing our names and our wedding date.
Our rentals are coming from Hartmann Design Studios and Impact SF (for lighting). Hartmann had such a great selection of linens and basics, of course.
Our ceremony musicians are friends but also professionals. Jard Davis is a classical guitarist in the Spanish style like Fred and Jessica Wan is a soprano. Jessica is singing Ave Maria for my walk down the aisle. I'm going to try not to cry but Ave Maria does that to me every time!
What is your venue and why did you choose it?
Three weeks after our engagement in April 2009, we found the Christchurch's Campbell Hall and Garden, situated atop a hill overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the sleepy seaside town of Sausalito, CA. The Hall is not a very popular venue, compared to the oft-booked Sausalito Presbyterian Church, but we got it for a great price ($1,800 all day including BYO caterer, chairs and tables).
What I love most about Campbell is the Church's stunning red doors.
What are you most excited about for your wedding day?
I'm super excited to see all my planning come to fruition...but most importantly to finally become a Mrs.!!! Fred is THE ONE and I can't wait to share my commitment to him with all our loved ones. And of course, eat, drink and be merry.
Is there anything you are nervous about for your wedding day?
I'm nervous that it'll be cloudy or rainy on our wedding day. Weather around here is tricky and I am confident that we'll enjoy a "late summer" in early October! I've planned only an hour to take photos at Point Bonita in the Marin Headlands before our ceremony and I hope bad weather won't trump it. Initially, I was also nervous about setup since Campbell Hall would only let us in at 1pm the day of, but now they're letting us in early and preset tables, chairs, decor. It's a huge burden off our shoulders.
What is your wedding theme or concept going to be? What inspired it?
Musically romantic is the theme of our wedding. Fred's a musician and Anthropologie would sum up my style -- bohemian and romantic. The very first inspiration board I saw was on Snippet and Ink and it was a southern inspired wedding with magnolias, sweet tea and more. We're incorporating a bird motif, musical notes, mason jars and white milk glass. I collect vintage objects and my collection will be peppered throughout. Our wedding colors are peacock blue and persimmon and we have blended those in many parts of the day, from the bridesmaids' dresses to our programs and table linens.
Did you decide to hire a wedding coordinator? Why did you decide this?
I'm a wedding coordinator myself so I handled all of the details, from hiring vendors, determining the design and putting together an itinerary. However, I did engage a fellow colleague to coordinate our wedding. After all, I don't want to worry about the details and just have fun!
Where are you planning to go for your honeymoon?
We've planned our honeymoon for Oahu, Hawaii. Our travel agent called it the "starter" island because it has a great mix of everything: culture, shopping, snorkeling, hiking and more. The honeymoon is all we can think of right now...
What are some of your favorite wedding planning blogs and tools?
Google Docs was surprisingly my biggest tool. Before sending our save-the-dates, I created a form on Google Docs so that I could email our friends and ask for their most up-to-date contact info. Then later, I created an online spreadsheet for our budget, itinerary and personal item inventory (like how many vases per table, candy buffet vessels, etc). I liked being able to access these documents on the go.
Is your husband-to-be helping with the planning? What are his jobs?
At first, I didn't task my fiance with anything but I later got overwhelmed. So I asked him to take over music and hiring the catering staff (servers, bartenders, etc). He also didn't mind the cake tasting...of course. He helped punch 200+ corners for our wedding programs too.
What is your best advice to brides who are currently planning their wedding?
My biggest piece of advice: don't be afraid to ask for help! Enlist the help of your fiance, bridal party, and circle of friends. We're blessed to have talented friends like Peter, Jessica, Jard, Shakirah and more and they have helped us create a unique experience (and also stay on budget). Plus, don't forget to laugh -- things may not go the way you want, but it'll work itself out. Just take it in stride.
Are you planning to see each other before the ceremony for photos? Why or why not?
We are doing a first look. We didn't want to miss our cocktail hour because of family and wedding party portraits, so we planned ahead to do a first look and then wedding party photos before the ceremony. We're not that traditional!
What are 3 words that describe how you feel right now?
Thrilled. Ecstatic. Giddy.
{DARLING} Eye-Candy Submitted to us by Steve Hughes Photography
Update: Make sure you check out this post on engagement photo ideas.
Reader Comments (3)
Beautiful pictures and the puppy is so cute!
Cool photos. I really like it, especially on the pic that has balloons in them. I felt the romance between this happy couple. Also, the puppy is so cute.
What delightful pictures! The red balloons and the close up of the bride leaning on his shoulder are my favorites. It would be cool to see a copy of this couples wedding programs, they seem like they have a great sense of style.