Two days, two major pieces of the puzzle found: venue and jewelry designer.
The venue was only the second place we looked at, and the jeweler only the third. In both instances, the venue/vendor just felt right to us and since Tom and I are both big believers in going with our gut, we jumped on them immediately and instinctively.
We’ve chosen
1 Fort Mason, “San Francisco’s Hidden Treasure,” to host the event. It’s a pretty old Italianate Victorian mansion located on a cliff on the eastern edge of upper Fort Mason. The three banquet rooms, all in the back of the building, have large (mostly floor-to-ceiling) windows overlooking an expansive lawn where the ceremony will take place. The spot is quite beautiful and very peaceful, with towering old Eucalyptus trees surrounding the property and spectacular views of Aquatic Park and Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the East Bay. [picking jaw back up off the floor]
And the building is dripping with history: built in 1865, it was the residence of the Commanding General of the Western Armies for 75 years, hosting such visitors as Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes. In the 1940s, it became an Officers’ Club, closing its doors in 2003, only to be reopened shortly thereafter as a venue for events and meetings.
We can’t officially book the space until 1 year out from our date, but we’ve put in a hold form and are told that they’ve had no requests at all for October 2009, so we should get our first choice no problem.
As for our rings, we don’t yet have a confirmed design or even a firm idea of what we want them to look like, but we know who we want to work with:
David Clay Jewelers on Union Street. In short, they’re awesome.
We stopped in earlier today, mostly just to do more investigation of what’s out there, what our options are, and how much we should expect to spend. We wound up spending at least an hour there, learning about metals and techniques and styles from this cute, young (probably straight) designer and sales person named Chris, whose knowledge was impressive and whose enthusiasm was infectious. Palladium, Titanium, Tungsten Carbide, Damascus Steel… who knew there were so many metals to choose from??
In the span of 24 hours, I went from stressed at the mere thought of all the work we had ahead of us to giddy and giggly and ready for more. I don’t want to say anything, but this wedding planning thing is easy.
Ha.
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