Black Tie Micro-Wedding in Foggy San Francisco

Lindsey and Michael were all set to get married at a Chateau in Provence in October 2020. But sadly due to Covid, they had to pull a major pivot, cancel their dream wedding in France, and plan another one in San Francisco in just two months – even managing to print new invitations! Captured by San Francisco wedding photographer JANINE LICARE they cut their guest count down to ten people but still kept it black tie, which helped them maintain an elevated feel. The infamous San Francisco fog swept in mid-portraits and stayed throughout their ceremony at the Legion of Honor – which offered them a taste of France with its architecture and art. 

Their 10-year-old dog Sophie was the flower girl. Afterward, they had a small reception at Cavallo Point, just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The tables were set with white florals and custom monogrammed linen napkins at each place setting. This is where they shared their first dance and cut their cake.

HOW DID YOU MEET? As modern couples do, we met on a dating app in 2017. Our first date was at a wine bar in San Francisco. 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Before I lived in San Francisco, I lived in New York and I grew up in New York state. I will forever love New York and Michael knew that. He proposed in Central Park as the sun was setting on a snowy evening in December. He surprised me and we spent the entire next week celebrating in the city. It was pure magic.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR WEDDING STYLE? We always knew we wanted black tie, elegant and classic. We love a well thought out detail and often, less is more. Only ten people attended our wedding but we kept a lot of the original gold details on the tablescape, the monogrammed dinner napkins and classic green and white floral arrangements. Navy blue, french blue, white and gold are so beautiful and timeless in our opinion.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS/ATTIRE? Carolina Herrera has always been a favourite designer of mine and I knew the minute I tried on the dress that it was the one. Jin Wang helped me to find the perfect dress from the 2020 Spring Collection and make it fit like a glove. Michael had his midnight blue tuxedo custom made and added details like his monogram and our wedding date embroidered inside.

DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Our flower designer, Laurie Burns, did an incredible job. She made gorgeous green and white arrangements which included white roses – my June birth month flower, daisies – Michael's April birth month flower, white ranunculus and other beautiful white flowers that were in season. She designed my bouquet, Michael's boutonniere, large floor arrangements for the ceremony, long rectangular arrangements for the dinner tables and cake table, a flower collar for our dog Sophie who was the ring bearer, and a few extra flowers for on top of our cake.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Get all the details sorted before your big day and be present to cherish and enjoy each moment of your dream day that you helped create.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: The cards Michael and I sent to one another to open before seeing each other were very special to both of us. Also reading our vows to one another.

From the bride: "We got engaged in New York City in Central Park and shortly after we started the wedding planning process. We reserved the Chateau de Tourreau in Sarrians, France for 3 nights and 4 days and sent out our save the dates. We planned on having our ceremony on 10.10 but creating a weekend of celebration surrounding the wedding.

COVID happened. We deliberated. We finally sent announcements out around July 4th that we had decided to get married with our immediate family only on 10.10 in San Francisco. We are holding on
to the idea of a “Part Deux” with all of our guests, in the future, at the Chateau, whenever it is possible. 

We ended up having our ceremony at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. The building Is very European and there is a ton of French artwork inside and out. It was a black-tie event with 10 guests. I wore my Carolina Herrera dress and Jimmy Choo shoes, and Michael wore his midnight blue tux and velvet Gucci loafers that were originally intended for France. Both of my grandmother’s broaches were on my bouquet and I borrowed my earrings from a dear friend. The ceremony took place at 5:30 pm and there was a ton of fog, which is very typical for San Francisco. Our English bulldog, Sophie, was the ring bearer and Michael’s good friend from college was the officiant. I came down the aisle with my dad to “Pachabel Cannon in D” and we processioned to “Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered”. It was a very intimate and special ceremony, and the photos are really neat due to the fog, and our amazing photographer.

Our dinner reception was on a second-story balcony at Cavallo Point in Sausalito, just over the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see the bridge from the property and our family stayed there for 3 nights total, including the wedding night. It is a beautiful property, and everyone could safely gather outside at a distance. Michael and I danced to “Michael Bublé – Everything”, nobody else was allowed to dance per the county guidelines. We cut the cake to “James Taylor – How Sweet It Is”. We toasted champagne and had a wonderful 5-course dinner with music, wine, flowers, candlelight, and heating lamps.

Some details include: each guest received a special welcome bag with custom cookies designed with a J for Jensen and the date of our wedding, along with other items, not pictured. Per the county, again, we could not have flatware on the table, it had to be wrapped in a napkin, so we made the best of it and had gorgeous dinner napkins monogrammed with an M and L to cover the flatware rolls."

A big thank you to San Francisco wedding photographer JANINE LICARE for sharing this beautiful engagement shoot with us. Originally from Connecticut, Janine moved to Costa Rica when she was 4 years old and grew up in the middle of the jungle. At the age of 9, she co-founded a non-profit organisation to help save the rainforest (check it out here). When she was 11, her parents gave her her first film camera and she immediately fell in love. After stoking her passion by pursuing photography classes at Stanford University she then leapt into the wedding industry full-time. Check out more of her portfolio here.