big decisions

since our first option was out of the question, david and i embarked on a search for another church for our wedding ceremony. yes, i am fully aware that as catholics we are not supposed to search for churches for our wedding day, but given that we know we are going to have lots of guests from out-of-town, we thought it would be nice to have get married in a church that had historical significance to san francisco. about a week-and-a-half ago we made an appoint with the secretary and put our names down to get married at st. patrick's catholic church in the city.



the excerpt at the bottom of their bulletin reads,

St. Patrick's is uniquely a sign of God's loving presence. It was here when the miners left for the gold county, it served the Irish immigrants, withstood the great fire and earthquake of 1906, continued to serve the Irish, then the Spanish-speaking, now the Filipino community, the numerous tourists and conventioneers and always the business world by which it is surrounded. Now it exists in a neighborhood undergoing redevelopment. Unchanged in the midst of change, it still repeats for all the message of Him who is the resurrection and the life.

my aunt and uncle were married in this church over 15 years ago as well, so it does have some family significance. we're ecstatic that we've already booked a date for our wedding, which still seems so far off from now. everyone keeps saying that it'll go by fast, but i'm not so sure about that.

as for our reception venue, we did do a bit of researching for that. there are so many awesome places to have a reception in the bay area -- hotels are in abundance, outdoor weddings by the beach are definitely doable, and receptions in the wine country are quite common. price wise, your options may be limited if you are on a strict budget. after looking around and making a few quick decisions, we've narrowed it down to Hotel Sofitel in Redwood City. this hotel is outside of SF, but still accessible and fitting to our needs. my cousin, stephanie, had her 18th birthday there and i worked closely with their event coordinator, who is willing to give me a good deal for the reception.



i've had dreams about having my reception here, here, here, and here. but, alas, our nurse-teacher budget does not allow for those kinds of lavish environments. a girl can dream, right?