The temps may be dropping, but we’re warming right up thanks to Jane and Norman’s sunny backyard wedding coming from new 100LC Event Pros Yuliya Jul Photography and Jenn Robirds Events. J + N paid homage to their story with so many special details, from a coffee bar in honor of their first date to including their precious samoyed in everything from custom wedding invitations to the ceremony itself. After a ceremony at their San Francisco home, they celebrated with a restaurant wedding reception, and concluded their festive weekend at the historic Filoli Gardens for an English tea party complete with guests flaunting their favorite vintage statement hats.
Jane and Norman’s San Francisco Backyard Wedding
Their Story + Rehearsal Dinner
Jane and Norman are a Chinese/Taiwanese American couple working in the Bay Area as a Tech Exec + Venture Capital Partner. They love building and investing in their community of family and friends, so when it came time to say I Do, they created a series of different events to share their story with everyone. The couple met on the coffee and bagels dating app and first bonded over their love of food. Starting with the backyard rehearsal dinner, they shared creative “guest books” — each of their dating profiles enlarged and framed for loved ones to sign. Jane donned a watercolor-inspired floral dress, everyone else wore white, and their sweet pup made its first appearance of the weekend…
Invitations + Personal Details
The couple saved money by opting for a backyard wedding ceremony and restaurant reception, but they splurged on a few important details along the way, such as these gorgeous completely custom watercolor wedding invitations by Shimmer & Stain featuring an illustration of their dog at the day-after tea party venue Filoli Gardens. Another fun detail: the bride surprised her bridesmaids massages before getting ready on the big day!
Of course, their beloved Froyo was a ring bearer in the ceremony as well!
The Backyard Wedding Ceremony
They also invested in transforming their backyard into an elegant garden setting with beautiful ceremony structures and draping, complete with romantic summer florals by Walnut & Main. Jane says, Our ceremony site was in the backyard of our first home purchased together, and we were able to construct it to achieve a beautiful, intimate, personalized feel to share our vows in our lifetime walk with each other.
Bridesmaids wore different shades of blush and pink and their backyard was filled with delicate pink and peach flowers to bring an air of spring floral romance to the space. After the backyard ceremony, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with signature cocktails designed after Jane, Norman, and of course, Froyo.
Restaurant Wedding Reception
For the reception, everyone headed over to their favorite restaurant HL Peninsula, a modern Chinese banquet hall that overlooks the bay as well as the United planes of SFO (frequented by Norman, who is often off chasing his next venture capital deal). They followed through with their romantic pink and green theme by including a creative seating chart, blush and blue tablescapes, and a wedding cake adorned in dried roses.
The reception also featured creative cocktail ideas and fun signage, plus a coffee bar as a nod to their first date in a cafe. While guests enjoyed the festivities, the couple slipped away for a few sweet sunset portraits near the beach.
Sunday Farewell Party at Filoli Gardens
The day after their wedding, Jane and Norman invited guests to an English-garden themed farewell party at Filoli Historic House & Garden in San Mateo County. Jane tells explains, It’s a beautifully manicured destination in the heart of Silicon Valley that often serves as an inspiration for how we would design our front or backyards. For fun, we had our guests don on English tea party hats for our Sunday garden party to celebrate our unification.
The farewell party also gave fashion love Jane an opportunity to wear another bridal gown, this time designed by Savin London to capture the romantic floral vibe of the venue. Such beautiful details!
Guests did such a fabulous job of dressing the part!
Congrats to Jane and Norman on such an elegant, romantic backyard wedding and garden party! No doubt an unforgettable weekend for them and their guests.
Photography: Yuliya Jul Photography | Ceremony Venue: Private Residence (Couple’s Backyard) | Reception Venue: Restaurant HL Peninsula | Farewell Party Venue: Filoli Gardens | Wedding Planner: Jenn Robirds Events | Ceremony Entertainment: Hip Entertainment | Florist: Walnut & Main | Rentals: Hensley Event Resources | Bar & Beverage: Vik Staggin Co. | Beauty: Hera Makeup Studio | Coffee Cart: A Whole Latte Love | Cake: Trizia Cake Artistry | Stationery: Shimmer & Stain | Videography: Kory Weddings
