Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Club, San Francisco, CA

    Jade and Tom, who are both triathletes, met in the fast lane at swimming practice. Since they were both dating others at the time, their relationship began as a friendship. “But we sensed something was special,” says Jade, “so when the other relationships fizzled, we started dating.” Their first “official kiss” was on June 3, 2005.

    Six months later, Tom proposed at Paige Meadows in Lake Tahoe while the couple were walking their dogs, Wile E. Coyote and Tinkerbell. “It was a cold December day,” Jade reminisces, “and we were the only ones out there.” When the sun came out from behind the clouds, Tom proposed, witnessed by the two dogs. “Naturally, they chased their tails in approval!” says Jade.

    The theme for both the ceremony and the reception—autumn in Central Park—came from Jade’s vision. She was born and raised in Manhattan, and wanted to bring that spirit into the design of the wedding from start to finish.
As Jade explains it, “For the ceremony, we had a canopy of leaves and branches built. The color palette included hues of autumn, and maple leaves covered the ceremony aisle.”
    The reception featured a variety of textures with a modern yet nature-made feel. The tables were topped with custom-designed taffeta tablecloths and napkin rings of copper and birch. Silk shantung table runners embellished the center of each table, decorated with birch bark, moss, submerged crab apples, floating disk candles, and tall glass hurricane cylinders. Tall vases contained lush asymmetrical arrangements of autumn-toned flowers, including dahlias, roses, tiger lilies, hydrangea, orchids, and seasonal fall foliage that included kiwi branches. The place cards were miniature crab apples to which the guests’ names were attached by handmade copper pins. Custom-made pillows and throws completed the furnishings.
    It was important to Jade that the foods served be organic and environmentally protective, so the menu included turtle-safe wild-caught prawns wrapped in crispy green tea noodles with tamarind dip, organic carrot and ginger soup infused with lemon thyme, and tiny red, gold, and Chioggia organic beet napoleons with Sonoma goat cheese. The entrées offered were pan-roasted wild Alaskan halibut with butternut squash-eggplant caponata or Western grasslands filet mignon with a chestnut and whole-grain mustard crust.

    Jade and Tom spent their wedding night at the Omni San Francisco Hotel, then visited Buenos Aires and Patagonia for two weeks.