A San Diego Wedding at The Museum of Photographic Arts
Our wedding concept was inspired by our appreciation of the arts, our Asian & Filipino culture, and our affection for the city of San Diego. Our ceremony and was held at the Museum of Photographic Arts at historical Balboa Park and our reception was held at The University Club Atop Symphony Towers. These two venues allowed us to showcase our eclectic mix of modern, chic, and contemporary styles.
We came across Tammy and Mark from Memoire Studio in San Francisco, CA. Tammy and Mark are award winning photographers that specialize in photo journalistic photography. We chose Mark and Tammy because their photographs were unique, creative and bold. They continuously push the envelope to create innovative artistry and we were excited about what they could do for us. Besides Tammy and Mark's technical skills and photography acumen, they are a relief to be around. This was important to us because we wanted to be relaxed during our photo shoots. Both Tammy and Mark are down to earth, genuine and have a good sense of humor. They were able to capture our story on our wedding day. Tammy and Mark were unnoticeably positioned all over the place, capturing every single angle and every single moment.
We were very pleased with our engagement and wedding photos! Till this day, every time we see our wedding pictures, our facial expressions and feelings reappear as if we were getting married all over again. Who says you can’t freeze time? At the beginning, we were just like any other couple that knew really nothing about photography, but kept searching for a legitimate photographer. Now that we are married and the experience has passed, we can truly say that Memoire Studio exceeded our expectations!
Our initial wedding idea was to have an Asian themed wedding. We met our coordinator Thomas Bui from Thomas Bui Lifestyle and found out very quickly that "sprinkling a little soy sauce" on the table would not suffice :)
Three words to describe Thomas Bui: Wow! Wow! Wow! We began the wedding planning process about two years ago and were immediately impressed with Thomas's vision and passion. The process that Thomas goes through when he has an idea in his head to the finished product is quite magical. We were all blown away with what Thomas had created for us.
Several of our guests said that it was the best wedding they had ever experienced. It kept people interested, intrigued and wanting more. What Thomas designed for us was modern, chic, and contemporary all at the same time. It was perfect! Our guests even noticed the fine details throughout the night.
We couldn't imagine working with anyone else on the most important day of our lives. Thomas Bui gave us our fairytale wedding. Till this day, we still follow his work via his website and blogs as he becomes more and more creative as time goes by. He will take your idea, enhance it and make your dreams come true.
We love the city life that San Diego has to offer, especially the downtown skyline against the Pacific Ocean. We wanted everyone to experience the beauty of San Diego from above. The University Club Atop Symphony Towers is one of the tallest buildings in San Diego with floor to ceiling glass windows. From the 34th floor, guests were treated to stunning 360-degree views of San Diego. We had the entire floor for our event, and utilized multiple rooms. Our guests were awed with the sunset that was laid out before them. It had rained just minutes before our reception, but when the rained stopped, the sky did its histrionics and transformed itself into something truly amazing.
The University Club Atop Symphony Towers catered our event. The food was fantastic! During cocktail hour, our guests were treated to Coconut Shrimp, Brie & Phyllo, and Thai Chicken Satay. Our dinner started with the University Club Salad. It was made of endive, watercress, granny smith apples, Maytag blue cheese, candied walnuts, and champagne vinaigrette. It was refreshing and crisp. Guests were then treated to a champagne sorbet with frozen grapes. Arguably one of the most memorable tastes of the night, even though it was just a palate cleanser. The main course was a choice between a Grilled Filet Mignon with Brandy Peppercorn Sauce and the Pan Roasted Sea Bass with Macadamia Nut Butter, Lemon Grass, and Coconut Curry Emulsion. Both were equally mouthwatering, delicious and well plated. Our guests could not stop talking for months after the wedding about the entire experience at The University Club. The views, the food and the fun!
Our wedding cake and desserts were provided by Eva of Wicked Spoon. Wicked Spoon makes fantastic desserts! Our wedding had a dessert bar with five rich sweets for our guests to choose from. The Triple Chocolate Panna Cotta and Mini Cannolis got rave reviews from our guests. Not only was the array of flavors pleasing to our palates, but the display was eye candy. Very colorful and appetizing to the eye, the desserts enticed our guests and made their mouths water. The desserts rested on a huge illuminated LOVE table that was provided by Heidi from Concepts Event Designs in San Diego, CA.
The Chocolate Panna Cotta lay snug in a martini cup and the traditional red velvet cupcake was anything but traditional. The cupcake wore a square clear cup in order to show off their layers of red velvet and cream cheese. The desserts at our dessert bar were arranged in several different tiers and went with our modern theme. We loved everything about our dessert bar!! Eva was pleasure to work with. She is professional, genuine and her designs are unique and eye catching.
Our advice is to enjoy the wedding planning process and to find a common ground on what you want and what you need. Last but not least, we recommend something that not only is beneficial for the wedding planning process, but also for the future: Practice Patience!
Photographer: Memoire Studio
Ceremony Venue: The Museum of Photographic Arts at Balboa Park
Reception Venue: The University Club Atop Symphony Towers
Flowers: Adorations Botanical Artistry
Wedding Coordinator: Thomas Bui of Thomas Bui Lifestyle
Cinematographer: NR3 Video Productions
Catering: The University Club Atop Symphony Towers
Desserts: Wicked Spoon
Bride's Dress: Demetrios Bride
Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom Wedding Suite
Linen and Event Rentals: Concepts Event Designs
Hair Design: Bouffant Hair Salon
Officiant: Robert Stevens Officiant
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Reader Comments (5)
Beautiful work!
What a gorgeous wedding - I just love all the bold bold colors. Gorgeous images from the photographers. Congratulations
Gorgeous wedding! The colors and the manner in which it was captured is truly stunning.
Beautiful!
Really a very elegant wedding.