Emily & Steve’s Treasure Island Wedding at Aracely Cafe

Steve and Emily met five years ago at The Grand, a nightclub that Steve describes as “the San Francisco Asian American landmark.” Steve had gone with Simon, a friend he had just met at work, and Simon decided that they’d go talk to some girls at the club. Well, it just so turns out that one of those girls was Emily! And so the story of Stemily began. As for Simon, well, let’s just say he did what wingmen were meant to do 😛

Simon was more than just the catalyst that led to the start of this love story. He remained close over the years and acted as the officiant at their wedding, which we really liked and made it feel very personal. The ceremony was meaningful, touching, and at times funny. As a result of how close Simon has become with Stemily, I think we may have taken more cutesy photos of Steve and Simon together than of Steve and Emily… but for Emily’s sake, we’ve chosen the photos here to tell the narrative of the bride & groom 😀

As for the rest of the wedding, well, it was a blast. We had a great time with them last year for their engagement photos (check out the last photo, at The Grand where they met!), and as expected we enjoyed their wedding even more and are loving their photos. We usually have a hard time remembering wedding toasts, both because we’re usually too busy shooting to listen, and because, to be honest, we hear a lot of toasts! But two moments we won’t forget are when Emily’s dad praised her for being smart, going to Berkeley, and graduating early which saved them lots of tuition money (our Asian genes totally understand…), and Steve’s reaction when his sister started talking about their underage drinking and other shenanigans that their parents never knew about, and when she started recounting Steve’s embarrassing conversations with her. (If I’ve learned one thing about parents though… it’s that they always knew. There’s no keeping secrets from mom!)

8/18/18 was a veeeery popular day for weddings. We probably had a dozen couples asking for that date, which makes us feel even more blessed and lucky that we got to spend this day together with Emily & Steve. It’s been a real privilege, and we’re so excited to share some highlights of their big day!