About the wedding
Jenn and Julian’s downtown Sonoma wedding was a uniquely low-key affair. The intimate ceremony took place on the back patio of the Depot Hotel and the summer BBQ in the park style reception was held across the street at the Depot Park. Co-officiated by close friends, the ceremony began with Jenn’s mother giving a heartfelt tribute to her husband who had passed away, and expressing how she much wished he were there with them. She carried a bouquet of sunflowers in his honor and they occupied the seat that would’ve been his. Transitioning gracefully from the emotional start, Garth and Eddie segued to personal accounts of their relationships with Julian and Jenn and shared some priceless stories with the crowd. After a wholly emotional ceremony, the two were married!
After the light appetizers, a few family photos, and some crisp Sauvignon Blanc, guests moved across the street to the Depot Park where Jenn, Julian and 200 of their closet friends and family took over. When guests arrived, they were to match up a table marker cookie with its corresponding piñata (for example, a bacon cookie, and you look for the egg piñata)Cleverly handmade by the Bride her self. Sadly, the heat of the day melted most of the candy in the piñatas but nobody went home hungry for there was a lavish spread of Vietnamese food by local caterer Simmer in Petaluma. The food catered to vegetarians, meat-lovers, and pescatarians alike and everything looked and tasted beautiful. Although the afternoon heat soared into the 90’s, the spirits of the guests were not hampered and after a series of heartfelt speeches, a late afternoon breeze arrived and the dj’s got the dance floor packed immediately. Old-school jams we’re the order of the day. As Jenn and Julian danced to R. Kelly’s Step in the Name of Love, friends and family soon joined. Until Jaime was approached by a grumpy older woman holding a poop bag and a small lap dog asking “what the heck is all this noise?”, we almost forgot we were in a park in the heart of Sonoma. A very different wedding with SO much DIY love and a couple completely enamored with one another…recipe for a perfect day.
How they met
“In January 2013 at a friend’s Niners football playoff party. It was technically through friends of friends, but slightly more awkward since we didn’t realize until we were all together that our mutual friend’s hadn’t actually met before – meaning we basically were a group of randoms new to SF. Being that we were all pretty new to the city, we started to hang out as a group to explore. After about 6 months, the two of us realized that we were texting and hanging out more than anyone else was, which was when we realized we had something worth pursuing. I think we both knew we had something special when neither one of us flinched at each other’s terribly corny and cheesy jokes.”