Cristine has been one of my closest friends since high school, and long before I was photographing weddings, she was always willing to get in front of my camera whenever I wanted to try something new.
So when she started telling me about this guy named Marc a few years later, I was obviously invested.
Cristine and Marc were both born in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States when they were young. Marc’s family settled in San Francisco and Cristine’s in Chicago, but mutual family friends eventually brought the two of them together.
Their original wedding was planned for right before COVID hit, and like so many couples during that time, they had to put everything on hold.
When they were finally able to start planning again and Cristine asked me to photograph it, I couldn’t have been happier.
Then she told me it was happening in San Francisco.
Even better.
Getting Married at San Francisco City Hall
Cristine found inspiration for San Francisco City Hall on TikTok, which became a bit of a theme for this wedding. So many of the ideas they incorporated throughout the day started with something she had seen and then figured out how to make her own.
And when I say make her own, I mean that pretty literally.
Cristine DIYed so much of this wedding. She made the bouquets, boutonnieres and even her earrings. Many of the supplies had been saved from their original wedding plans and finally got their moment years later.
After getting ready, we headed to San Francisco City Hall, where Cristine and Marc shared a first look before their ceremony.
Walking into City Hall for the first time, I immediately understood why she wanted to get married there. The architecture is incredible, and there are beautiful places to photograph everywhere you turn.
Their ceremony itself was short and sweet, and afterward we had time to walk around City Hall together and take portraits throughout the building.
For someone who had never photographed there before, I was pretty happy about that.
A Second Ceremony With Their Family and Friends
After City Hall, everyone had a few hours to freshen up before heading north of San Francisco to The Old Homestead for the second half of the celebration.
This ceremony felt completely different from the first.
Cristine and Marc were surrounded by their closest family and friends, Cristine’s brother in law officiated, and their faith was a big part of the ceremony. They’re both involved with their churches and worship teams, so incorporating that part of their lives felt especially personal.
They exchanged vows and sang a gospel song together, and before exchanging their rings, they passed them around to their guests so each person could pray over and bless them.
Yes, that was another TikTok inspired idea.
But it ended up being one of the most meaningful parts of the day.
A Wedding Filled With DIY Details
Almost everything you see from the reception was created by Cristine or put together using pieces she had saved from their original wedding plans.
And she committed.
The arbor for their ceremony was made three days before the wedding. We had taken their engagement photos around San Francisco just a few days earlier, and somehow those were already printed and incorporated into the wedding decor.
She created the place settings, worked on the florals and even made the flower crown she wore later that evening.
There were also sheets on the dinner tables with four QR codes for guests to scan. Each one opened a video sharing a different part of Cristine and Marc’s relationship over the years.
It was such a personal way to let everyone experience more of their story.
Celebrating Their Filipino Heritage
After the second ceremony, Cristine changed into something more comfortable, added the flower crown she’d made and was ready to celebrate.
The rest of the evening was filled with speeches, dancing, cake and time with the people who had waited a long time to finally celebrate these two.
Cristine and Marc also incorporated a traditional Filipino money dance into the reception, bringing another piece of their families and culture into the wedding.
There were so many different parts to this day. A civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, an intimate second ceremony centered around their faith, Filipino traditions, DIY details and years of plans that had been packed away waiting for the right time.
But somehow, it all felt completely like Cristine and Marc.
And after knowing Cristine since we were teenagers and photographing her through so many random ideas and stages of life, getting to stand behind the camera for this one was pretty special.
They waited a long time for this day.
I’m really glad I got to be there when it finally happened.
