Weddings Archives - Page 2 of 3

Tim & Jake’s Ancient Ceremonial Wedding in San Francisco

I knew Tim from my previous job working at Waymo, the self-driving car team, so when he asked me to help plan his wedding, I was overjoyed! When I met Tim & Jake together for the first time and heard their vision, I knew that I was in for a treat. Tim & Jake got engaged atop Mount Heavenly in Lake Tahoe. In the spirit of ancient traditions Jake proposed to Tim with three stones to signify a trinity of unconditional (Rose Quartz), divine (Sugilite) and familial (Malachite) love.Read More

From a Wedding Planner: What questions to ask your Wedding Venue?

I’m so excited to be starting a new blog series at Make it Mariko called “From a Wedding Planner” where we’ll give you tips and tricks to planning your wedding, from the perspective of a Wedding Planner!

Today’s feature:

What questions should I ask
my potential Wedding Venue?

See below for our list of typical questions that we’d ask of any Event Venue that we talk to. Hope it is helpful!

-Gina MarikoRead More

Shay & Oliver’s Colorful Buddhist Wedding in San Francisco

Shay and Oliver were such a kind and beautiful couple with a unique vision for their wedding. They were set on having a small, intimate wedding with less than 50 people. Shay was living in Florida, and Oliver in Vallejo. This would be the first time that their families would meet, and they wanted it to be a personal experience where everyone would have time to get to know each other.Read More

Tips on Hosting a Backyard Wedding with Trulia

I’ve always loved writing, so recently have made a valiant effort to start blogging more. I’m excited to have recently partnered with Trulia, the online residential real estate company, on a blog with tips on planning a backyard wedding at your home!

Of course, we all know that most San Franciscans can’t afford backyards at the moment (present company included), but you know, others in the Bay Area may find this useful 🙂

Check out the blog here.

Enjoy!

-Gina

#PastaMeetsPancit: A Filpino-Italian Wedding in Italy

Recently I had the extreme pleasure of traveling to Northern Italy to attend and participate in my cousin, Zuwenah’s wedding to her fiance, Roberto (aka Roby). Zuwenah is Filipino and Roby is Italian. They met while traveling in Kathmandu, Nepal, and went on their first date. Apparently it went well because Roby ended up skipping his next travel itinerary and instead spent two months traveling Thailand and Cambodia with Zuwenah!

After that the two were inseparable, meeting up in Italy for 3 months, doing long distance for a while, then traveling to Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and India together. They finally decided to settle down in Italy so that Roby could continue the family business of running his own gelateria (true story).

Roby’s family owns and operates a traditional Italian gelateria called Gelateria La Via Lattea, in a small northern Italian town called Gozzano, and have been in the same location for 25 years. Needless to say, it’s THE BEST gelato in town (and the best that I’ve ever tasted personally) and everyone in Gozzano (and beyond) knows them. It was so humbling to meet Roby’s parents and I feel like I now have a new extended Italian family 🙂

His parents didn’t speak much English, but language barriers are irrelevant when you have love. Enjoy the photos from my trip also playing around with my new Sony Alpha a6 camera!

-GinaRead More

Couple’s Wedding Trivia Template!

I’m all about the wedding activities. Weddings are supposed to be fun, and focused on the couple. Anytime my couples are down for fun activities and doing more interactive things, I always suggest COUPLE’S TRIVIA!

#1: I love trivia.
#2: I love the idea of getting to know a couple more at their wedding.

Couple’s trivia is a great activity to do during dinner in between courses especially if you’re doing a buffet since it gives guests something to do while they wait. Right before dinner ends, have everyone check their answers (honor system), and have your Emcee read off the answers aloud. It’s super fun and everyone always learns something new and fun about the couple.

Buy fun prizes for the winner!

For our wedding, I designed custom t-shirts based on our theme ‘California Love’ for the winners. We printed a few extras and gave them out to guests throughout the night. We also wore them the day after the wedding.

FUN FACT: The team that actually won trivia at our wedding, was our TRIVIA TEAM that we used to play with every week! I guess the practice paid off.

Download the template below, and share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Ready to play?

Click here

Grace & Colby – A Nature Inspired Berkeley Wildflower Wedding

It’s always a joy when my clients take me back to my alma mater, UC Berkeley. As a Berkeley alum, I’m excited to now be one of the preferred planners for their onsite wedding & event venue, The Faculty Club. Funny story, I actually graduated on the Faculty Club lawn from the Philosophy Department back in the day!

An eco-conscious couple, Grace & Colby were inspired by all the beautiful trees and nature surrounding the Faculty Club and wanted wildflower-inspired florals that looked like they were freshly foraged. We incorporated natural elements into all their decor from dried flowers on the signage, wooden frames, green leaves as escort cards, and the beautiful (and giant) hanging wreath designed by Juna Alinea.Read More

Jackie & Mike – A Romantic Mill Valley Wedding in the Woods

It was such a pleasure to be the Day-of Coordinator for this super sweet couple, Jackie & Mike. They were such a joy to work with: authentic, humble, and full of genuine love for one another. I really appreciated their energy and small, sweet gestures to each other throughout the day.

The Ralston White Retreat in Mill Valley was a classic and quaint venue. A crazy, narrow, windy road (that seems like a one-way but is actually a two-way), leads you to the peak of the mountain. There, at the top of a heart shaped lawn (no, seriously it’s shaped like a heart), you find a beautiful, unassuming private estate with a classic porch reminiscent of Forrest Gump.

This was also my first time setting up lighting at a wedding myself. It ended up turning out beautiful and provided that little extra something the reception room needed.

Oh yea and, best #dadspeeches ever!

Photography by Karen Santos Photography

#husmarryingmike

Tyler & Joliz – A Rustic Bay Area Barn Wedding

We had so much fun designing and planning Tyler & Joliz’s Red Barn Ranch wedding in Hopland, CA! Tyler and Joliz were one of the sweetest couples and their love for one another was always so clear and present. They had met, dated, and had a connection before but timing wasn’t right. Then a serendipitous LinkedIn message helped reconnect them at the perfect time, and they were inseparable ever since.

For every decision we made for the wedding, whether it be gold forks to white lanterns, there was a sparkle in their eyes full of excitement and joy. That joy was even more present on the big wedding day and I loved every minute of it.

We also loved this wedding since it was a truly Endeavors Collective wedding with Make it Mariko, Juna Alinea, and officiant Alvin Rosales all collaborating to make it a success. Congratulations Tyler & Joliz!

#possibletwo

It (literally) Takes a Village – A Dayak Wedding in Indonesia

This week I’m excited to share with you one of my best friend’s weddings in Indonesia (Kalimantan, Borneo to be exact) — my first international wedding! It was a traditional Dayak Tribal wedding, which hasn’t happened in the village in 10 years. I felt honored to be witnessing so much culture and tradition, and to be the special VIP guests the entire time.

Special thank you to Freddie & Darlene for choosing to have such an amazing unique celebration, to Dr. Birute and Pak Bohap for being such gracious, humble hosts, and to the kind people of Borneo for welcoming us into your home.

#latoborneoRead More

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Tim & Jake’s Ancient Ceremonial Wedding in San Francisco

From a Wedding Planner: What questions to ask your Wedding Venue?

Today’s feature:

What questions should I ask
my potential Wedding Venue?

Shay & Oliver’s Colorful Buddhist Wedding in San Francisco