Wedding Date on Aug 3, 2019

We met through a mutual friend in the summer of 2014. Michael had just moved to Stanford for his PhD in Chemistry, and he was eager to meet new people. Derrick has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since leaving his hometown, Los Angeles, for college in 2002. As a "Frisco" veteran, Derrick was happy to show Michael around the city -- and as they spent more time together exploring SF's iconic sights, incredible food scene, and diverse history they began to fall in love. They were inseparable since the moment they met, and 4 years later over Christmas dinner with his family in Phoenix Arizona, Michael popped the question. "OMG YES!" Derrick answered, and the very next day he started calling wedding venues.It was very important for us to get married in San Francisco -- the city in which we met and fell in love. We specifically chose SF City Hall for our ceremony because it’s one of the most important landmarks in LGBTQ+ history. It’s also the place where same-sex marriage licenses were first granted, many years before it was written into federal law. We also had a lot of family and friends flying in from all over the world (much of Derrick's family lives in Asia) so we wanted to give our guests the full "San Francisco experience.” We kicked off our wedding weekend at Uncle Harry’s, a penthouse in one of San Francisco’s tallest buildings, to show our guests the incredible views of the SF skyline. Our ceremony was at SF City Hall, which is the capital of our city and rich in LGBTQ+ history. And then we escorted our 200 guests from City Hall to the reception at the historic San Francisco Fairmont Hotel by cable car trolleys, an iconic SF attraction.It was really important to both of us that the wedding reflect our personalities. Michael is a PhD graduate from Stanford University and a scientist at an sustainable energy start-up in Silicon Valley, so he’s very passionate about sustainability. He worked with our planner Thomas Bui to ensure that our wedding would be as environmentally friendly as possible. Our florist tried to source flowers locally, all of which were recycled or composted after the event. Instead of foam, we used more eco-friendly structures to hold our arrangements in place. We were also proud to work with the Fairmont Hotel, which has a broad corporate commitment to use, wherever possible, sustainable, locally sourced and organically grown products. Finally, Thomas Bui’s planning team always donates, recycles, and/or composts decor, fabrication, etc. post-event. Derrick is an events industry veteran as Google's Head of Event Marketing. He’s responsible for developing the Internet giant’s event marketing strategy for its top revenue-generating businesses -- including its ads and marketing platforms -- and delivering brand experiences that are uniquely Google. However, planning our wedding was very different than planning a Google event. Instead of Google’s clean and simple aesthetic, Derrick’s personal style is a bit more flamboyant! He loves over-the-top extravagance (with sustainability in mind!) and this aesthetic is definitely reflected in the wedding. His favorite quote from the Sex And The City movie is from Samantha Jones, while she’s admiring a beautiful diamond ring at a high-end auction: “This flower ring is the essence of me. One of a kind, filled with fire...and a little too much.” He was so taken by this quote that he even had the personalized license plate “LIL2MCH” made for his Mercedes.Our best advice for other couples planning their weddings is to never be afraid to ask for what you really want. Today almost anything is possible, and with new technologies for fabrication, broader options and choice of vendors, etc. costs for things you thought you could only dream of could actually be within reach. We had a great wedding planner, Thomas Bui, to help us research and coordinate everything we wanted to have at our wedding. But for couples who do all of the planning themselves, we hope you have a fun time searching the web, consulting your knowing family and friends, and rolling up your sleeves to bring your dream wedding to life!