San Francisco, CA

A Sultry San Francisco Wedding in Creams and Scarlets

Published

2 months ago

May 17, 2024

A Sultry San Francisco Wedding in Creams and Scarlets

When we ask newlyweds to think back on what they wanted most for their big day — and we’ve interviewed hundreds of them over the years — the most common response is “For it not to feel like a wedding!” Gathering with old friends and eating mini grilled cheeses in formalwear to celebrate love feels more special these days than ever, even downright miraculous. And the betrothed have never been less attached to the old wedding handbook — or the need to please their great-aunt. So in a flurry of pampas grass and perfectly mismatched-to-match bridesmaid dresses, how do you pull off a non-cookie-cutter affair? For the answers, we decided to interrogate the cool couples whose weddings we would actually want to steal, right down to the tiger-shaped cake toppers.

Here, we spoke with San Francisco–based couple Jazelle Prado, a radio producer turned esthetician who also dabbles in the floral industry, and Lucas Liu, who works in interior textile sales. Though initially averse to being the center of attention and considering eloping, the pair’s love for the creative process won out, and they wed in two of their city’s most eye-catching, century-old establishments: the soaring City Hall and Tosca Café, a sexy jewel box of a spot with maroon leather seating. Their 80 guests ate steak, watched a fantastical Guillermo del Toro movie, and — if they were lucky — toasted the couple in a hidden lounge overlooking the space.

Jazelle: We wanted to elope originally. I didn’t know if I could be in a room with 100 people and have everyone spectate. The thought was a little cringe.

Lucas: We didn’t want to cater to the masses. Jazelle and I have a different bandwidth and energy. We’re very much reserved, invitation-only kind of people.

Jazelle: But we love to see ourselves as designers and we love curating our own spaces. We thought, Okay, then, let’s do something just super tasteful.

Lucas: Initially, we just wanted a cool place to do this festive function with our select friends and family. Eighty people max seemed sensible.

Jazelle: We didn’t really have any place in mind, but once I got my dress, I was able to figure out, Okay, what should a space look like with this dress on? I was totally feeling myself in that dress. I really liked how my body looked in it. I decided to wear gloves because that felt very glam. It was a vibe. It was sexy. I wanted the wedding to feel very sultry.

Lucas: I met Jazelle in 2018. We matched on Tinder. We connected so well on everything. It’s honestly insulting to try to put in words or force people to hear what I hear when I’m with Jazelle. It’s crazy. It’s just magic.

Jazelle: I had just graduated college. We met in May; I was moving to Chicago in June. I was like, This will be nothing. After that first date, we saw each other every day. I needed to be around him. Right before I left, he told me he loved me. I got in the car to drive cross-country with my mom and talked about Lucas the whole ride there.

Lucas: It’s like the worst drug. It literally ruins families and shifts continents and starts wars.

Jazelle: We were long-distance for a year, and then I moved back home and we moved in together. It’s just been fun ever since. He asked me to marry him on February 27, 2022. The ring is less traditional. He gave me a Padparadscha sapphire in a lotus, rose-gold setting. The sapphire is this amazing scarlet, burnt-orange color.

Lucas: Jazelle has always been fascinated with the City Hall building here in San Francisco. It has breathtaking architecture and lighting. We’d have it there and then do a little procession, whether walking or in cars, to a banquet hall or whatever. We checked a few places out, and the one that left the deepest impression was Tosca.

Jazelle: Tosca feels very “the mob’s watering hole.” This place is historic. It was built in 1919, and it was even in Mrs. Doubtfire. What captivated me was the interior design, with the checkerboard floors and this patinaed bar. On top of that, the food is amazing. When we toured the space, the staff were making it really easy. I was like, I’m going to vibe with these people.

Lucas: And the location — it’s in the heart of North Beach, on a gorgeous street, Columbus Avenue, that runs straight down to the Fisherman’s Wharf. The neighborhood is so rich in art, history, and culture. You see the cable cars going around. It’s the best of San Francisco. We just kept imagining, “It’s happening here.”

Jazelle: My dress was the first one I tried on, a local brand called Kamperett. I had just turned 30, and I was like, I’m in the best shape right now and I’m going to feel so confident in the dress. My mom said, “That is a slit, Jazelle.” Yeah, it looks like that for my husband, not for you! It was this yummy cream/shell color. With my dress and my ring and Tosca, that’s how I ended up choosing our color palette: scarlet flowers with the creamiest rose I could find. I did all the flowers for my wedding. I think I had a $500 flower budget, which is so rad.

Lucas: I had a Suitsupply tuxedo that was initially supposed to be for another wedding or gala I didn’t go to that ended up being a superspreader event. We wanted it to be cohesive with everything and classic.

Jazelle: Because City Hall is a public space, you can have ceremonies with up to ten people and don’t need to ask permission. But if you’re going to have a set amount of people and you want chairs and a reserved space, it’s a lot of emails to the clerk’s office. We wanted a reserved area because I wanted it to feel ceremonial without that religious factor, and I wanted the lighting to be on point. We had the “mayor’s balcony,” all marble with a beautiful view of the city and the staircase.

Lucas: The parameters were tight: “You can have this many flowers; if there’s any music, it has to be approved by this office and you have to keep it under an hour, and your hour starts upon the chairs being set up.”

Jazelle: Those are things where I had to be a bit more inventive. Can I get away with a ukulele player? I just said it was my cousin. Lucas is Polynesian, and I felt it would be really beautiful to have a ukulele play during our procession.

Lucas: We had a friend strum that Ronettes track, “Be My Baby,” as we were walking out, and the Beatles song “And I Love Her” on the way back. It ended up being June 23, a Friday, and as we got closer, we were like, “Wait, that’s Pride weekend. It’s going to be crazy in there.” But it was the coolest thing; the halls were just buzzing because everyone was having a pop-up wedding in every corner. Everyone looked their best and so happy. Everyone was sharing it.

Jazelle: City Hall was so loud. Everyone who came to our ceremony didn’t hear anything Lucas and I were saying, but I actually kind of loved that because that left me and Lucas in our own bubble. He heard me and I heard him, and that’s obviously all that mattered.

Lucas: Jazelle’s aunt Monica officiated for us. She did an excellent job speaking in front of everyone in English and Spanish.

Jazelle: She’s everyone’s auntie, and she just loves love. If I could think of the person who’s the most supportive of Lucas and me, it was naturally her. When we presented the idea to her, she was over the moon. I never really imagined myself getting married in the church. I come from a very traditional Mexican family and grew up pretty Catholic, and Lucas also has Latin roots; his father’s side is from Samoa, which can be a more religious culture. But we definitely decided that was not the route we wanted to go, with all due respect.

Lucas: Our dog was there. We knew we wanted her involved. She was such a good scout all day, going through all the people. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we pushed and it ended up being great.

Jazelle: She did so well. She’s a Shiba named Lion. I sent a picture of her to a graphic artist, Indira May, who made this cute illustration of her that we put on matchboxes with the date and our initials. On the back was a QR code to our wedding playlist.

Lucas: At Tosca, there was a cocktail hour. They brought out nice caviar and oysters and did it up. As that was happening, Jazelle and I were taking our photos all around the neighborhood at golden hour. We circled back and transitioned into sitting down, talking, and having little toasts. I don’t think I was even watching what I was shoving into my mouth, there were just plates in front of me. There was steak, a burrata salad, and they saved a lot of caviar for us.

Jazelle: They brought us everything, salad and pasta, and there was a choice between steak and salmon. I remember eating while watching Lion on the camera on my phone, because she was at home. I was multitasking because she’s my baby. I need to make sure she’s good!

Lucas: Our friend Miguel from Chicago spoke, and our friend Norma. My friend Darren was a little hyper from inebriation and he had a good time speaking for a while. Jazelle’s brother sang.

Jazelle: I decided to serenade Lucas with an Aretha Franklin song, “Call Me,” because the beginning of our relationship was based around the phone. We were calling each other constantly. I didn’t sing it on a microphone; I just mouthed the song and twirled around him, basically. The space was very small and the music was very loud. I made the playlist, so the DJ just played that and MCed.

Lucas: We wanted to put something on the projector that was inside that main area while the music’s going. We were thinking we’d choose something simple and color-focused. The movie that came to mind was The Shape of Water. The space was very primary-color dominant, and the movie has teal and blue tones that would make everyone spiral a little harder into this vacuum. We were trying to mix it up, like if you weren’t dancing, and you were tired and wanted to zone out. We wanted it to be a very comforting, enveloping space for the silly people we love.

Jazelle: I didn’t want the traditional cake-cutting photos, but dessert was olive-oil cake with mousse. There was another tucked-away room where we had a photo booth and a dessert/coffee space, if the more mature guests wanted to get away from the music and chaos.

Lucas: We rented an older, retro-looking photo booth. Did we want a bunch of little props? No. Black-and-white, sepia-toned photos.

Jazelle: We originally wanted to make an Irish exit, because I didn’t want to kiss everyone and say good-bye at the end of the night. I didn’t want to be pulled away; I wanted to be by Lucas’s side. If I’m going to be spectated, this is how I’m going to be spectated. Sorry if it comes off grumpy. I love everyone so much, but I’m letting you have this open bar, this music. Enjoy the time, and this is how you can spectate. We ended the night in the chef’s lounge and decompressed and drank some Champagne. We told some of our close friends we were upstairs, and we hung out with them and took photos and talked about the night until everyone left. There was no after-party. I just wanted to be with Lucas. We were on cloud nine.

Jazelle and Lucas met on Tinder in 2018 and married last June in San Francisco.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Their Shiba Inu, Lion, accompanied them to their ceremony at City Hall.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Of their love, Lucas says, “It’s honestly insulting to try to put in words or force people to hear what I hear when I’m with Jazelle. It’s crazy. It’s just magic.”
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Jazelle set out to enjoy the creative process of wedding planning as much as possible. “I just didn’t want to be the type A bride who stresses.”
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Since they wanted a larger group at City Hall, they had to register their wedding and follow some parameters around décor and music.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

They were assigned the “mayor’s balcony,” which overlooks the grand staircase.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Jazelle’s aunt Monica officiated. “If I could think of the person who’s the most supportive of Lucas and me, it was naturally her.”
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Given the cavernous space and the other weddings happening at the same time, guests couldn’t really hear the ceremony, which was just fine by the couple.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Jazelle accessorized with sheer black gloves, while Lucas opted for a sleek black manicure.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

After the ceremony, the newlyweds took photos around Ocean Beach, the same neighborhood where they got engaged.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Jazelle’s unconventional engagement ring, which features a deep-orange Padparadscha sapphire, was a major source of inspiration for the day’s aesthetic.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Their reception was held at Tosca Café, an Italian restaurant that first opened in 1919.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

They loved Tosca for its look and its multiple discreet side rooms, like the one where they hid away to have Champagne and appetizers.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

The room even featured a little window overlooking the restaurant where they could spy on guests. “I loved that,” says Jazelle. “It felt like a getaway, and very royal.”
Photo: Sincerely Sini

The restaurant recently underwent a big renovation that maintained the mahogany bar and vinyl checkerboard floors.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

“Tosca feels very ‘the mob’s watering hole,’” the bride remarked.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Several loved ones spoke while the party dined on burrata salad, meatballs, cacio e pepe, steak, salmon, and more.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Lion made another appearance, this time in illustrated form on matchboxes scattered on the tables.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

Jazelle arranged all of the flowers herself.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

“I don’t think I was even watching what I was shoving into my mouth,” Lucas recalls. “There were just plates in front of me.”
Photo: Sincerely Sini

After dinner, there was dancing to a playlist Jazelle made. At the same time, a projector descended, showing The Shape of Water.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

In another tucked-away room, an old-school photo booth spit out sepia-tone keepsakes.
Photo: Sincerely Sini

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San Francisco, CA

At Manny’s cafe, group therapy for newly hopeful Democrats

Published

2 hours ago

July 27, 2024

Press Room

At Manny’s cafe, group therapy for newly hopeful Democrats

SAN FRANCISCO — They filed in tentatively, taking seats on plush couches and folding chairs arranged in a semicircle in the cafe’s gently lit backroom. Here would be safe to share their deepest feelings, they were assured, to unspool their still-fresh emotions.

And the Democrats gathered at Manny’s — for what looked and sounded a lot like group therapy — had a lot to unpack.

In one of America’s most liberal cities, this is where San Franciscans come when they need a place to process the latest political bombshell. So they did Monday, gathering after President Biden ended his reelection campaign and ceded the spotlight to one of the Bay Area’s own. In confessional tones, person after person reported how their mood had changed overnight: from depression to delight, anxiety to excitement.

The preceding weeks had been traumatizing, the previous 24 hours life-affirming.

“I think for the first time in months I feel so optimistic,” said Chandru Murthi, a 77-year-old resident who was the first in the circle to share.

Manny Yekutiel imagined exactly this type of discussion when he founded his hybrid coffee shop, bar, bookstore and event space in the Mission district in 2018. The 34-year-old political science major is a longtime Democratic fundraiser and strategist, and he decided to open shop after Donald Trump’s election.

Since then, Manny’s has become a pillar of the city’s political scene, a physical retreat for like-minded souls to talk at a time when so much discourse is chronically online. The back of the cafe is decorated like a living room, with floor lamps, house plants, even a red vintage rug from Yekutiel’s childhood home in Los Angeles.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and first lady Jill Biden are among the prominent Democrats who have all stopped in. Vice President Harris, now the party’s likely ticket-topper in the November election, is also a fan. “You’re amazing,” she told Yekutiel during one of her visits.

For anyone looking to do a wellness check on the psyche of a deeply blue stronghold at this historic moment, Manny’s is where to go.

Responding to Biden’s news, Yekutiel reworked the week’s schedule, starting with Monday’s session. He kicked things off as discussion leader. “Let’s ground this in how we feel right now,” he told the crowd of about three dozen people. “How are we feeling as Democrats, as San Franciscans, as people who have a lot at stake in this election?”

“I feel excited, I feel hopeful,” said Angelina Polselli, 24. “It feels like everyone finally woke up from a long, long nap.”

As Manny’s resident Gen Z expert, she noted that young people have some concerns with Harris, particularly her record as a prosecutor. But there’s also the “brat” factor, which Polselli had to explain to an audience who appeared largely unfamiliar with the catalogue of Charli XCX.

“It feels exciting to have a young candidate who is energized and youthful and who is also talking to young people and using the language we use,” she added.

Soon, however, that familiar fear crept back in.

“I’m a little bit worried about a San Francisco liberal carrying the battleground states,” said Dan Rink, 81 and himself a liberal from the Bay Area.

“I’m not sure she’s a liberal, I view her as more moderate,” David Anderson, 55, a film industry veteran, chimed in.

Yekutiel took a poll: “How many of you, if you’re willing to raise your hand, are worried about her ability to win?” About half the circle responded, though several acknowledged they were “more hopeful than 24 hours ago.”

Hope has been in short supply all year for this crowd. Enthusiasm, even shorter.

“The last few weeks were really difficult because people have just felt this dread, that there’s no point,” Yekutiel said. “And now I have all these ideas, my mind has been racing, people are reaching out to me, asking how they can help. That was not happening 24 hours ago.”

Two nights later, Manny’s hosted a watch party for Biden’s Oval Office address, his first since exiting the campaign. Despite the new themed drinks — “Kamalattes,” sweetened with coconut syrup, of course — the affair was solemn.

As the president’s speech played on a small TV opposite the barista station, some 20 people fell silent and clustered around the screen. Passersby stopped to watch through the cafe’s open front windows. A woman named Lydia walked in to order a mocha and wound up staying for the whole thing.

The elated embrace of Harris expanded to a tearful appreciation of Biden.

“I felt in his voice and his speech and his words so much love for this country,” Michelle Jeong said, choking up. “The hope, unity and the lack of ego.”

For Mike Madison, who had also attended the Monday gathering, the sentiment was overdue. Lost in the memes and the Harris hullabaloo was the fact that Biden had just made a tremendous sacrifice, he said.

“I wanted people to remember what he’s done, his real accomplishments,” Madison said.

If night one’s theme was relief and celebration and night two’s was gratitude, a third event Thursday was something of a reality check. It was also the largest gathering of the week, squeezing about 175 people into Manny’s backroom for a panel featuring two journalists dissecting the upcoming campaign and Harris’s prospects for victory.

“It’s not going to be easy, let’s be clear. It’s not going to be easy to win in November,” said Scott Shafer, politics editor at KQED, a Bay Area public radio station.

The evening served as a call to action: “This is our hometown candidate, she’s one of us,” Yekutiel said. “So we are going to be needed to propel her to this highest office.”

For those interested in getting involved, he announced a very San Francisco option: A “disco for democracy” party, with proceeds going to get-out-the-vote efforts in neighboring Nevada. Only days earlier, when Biden was still heading the Democratic ticket, such festivities were a harder sell, Yekutiel said. But now there was something to dance about.

Lalita Abhyankar, a physician, was ready to volunteer. “I want to knock on doors,” she said. “I’ve never felt this way about a candidate, not even Obama. … I can vote for her instead of just voting against Trump. It feels amazing.”

Thursday was her first time at a Manny’s discussion, she said. A friend told her it was the place to be this week, and she wanted company as she reveled in her new enthusiasm. Sometimes even those who didn’t know they cared leave Manny’s fired up — like the woman who happened to walk in just before Biden’s address.

“She came in for a mocha and participated in a major historic moment,” Yekutiel said. “That was my vision for this place — you trap people with beer and coffee so they don’t even realize they’re walking into a political space. And then, they’re in.”

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Giants Reportedly Discussing Shipping Star Outfielder to Mets

Published

9 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

San Francisco Giants Reportedly Discussing Shipping Star Outfielder to Mets

Right now, it’s a mystery regarding what the San Francisco Giants are going to do ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

Whatever direction they take is going to impact this franchise moving forward.

This is a market favoring the selling teams with so many contenders searching for additions who can help them get into the playoffs and potentially make a championship run. While the Giants don’t have a ton of attractive pieces, anything they sell will likely get them an inflated package in return.

Blake Snell is the one name who multiple teams around the league would love to get their hands on since he’s started looking like the elite pitcher he’s been throughout his career.

However, it seems like if San Francisco is going to sell, they are already having conversations regarding one particular player.

According to Mike Puma of The New York Post, they have discussed a trade that would send their star outfielder Michael Conforto back to the New York Mets.

This is a prime example of the Wild Card race being so tight that multiple teams are looking to add players. The Mets entered this season with the plan of trying to contend in the present, but also looking ahead to the future.

When they got off to a horrendous start, it seemed like they would pull the plug on their year.

Instead, they have fought their way back and hold the top Wild Card spot in the National League. Now, they reportedly are looking to add someone like Conforto who can help them get into the postseason.

For the Giants, the veteran outfielder has been seen as a player who could be on the move. He’s in the final year of his $36 million deal he signed heading into 2023, so if they don’t move him right now, they would lose him for nothing.

The emergence of Heliot Ramos in the outfield and Tyler Fitzgerald as a utilityman might make this decision much easier. San Francisco could sell off some of their fringe pieces like Conforto while still keeping this roster in tact for a late playoff push.

New York would only be getting Conforto as a rental, but the fact he spent seven seasons with them at the Major League level and slashed .255/.356/.468 during his tenure, should give them confidence he can come in and provide solid at-bats.

The Giants likely wouldn’t get a whole lot back in return, but something is better than nothing.

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Giants Rotation Faces Key Decision This Weekend

Published

16 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

San Francisco Giants Rotation Faces Key Decision This Weekend

The San Francisco Giants will cram four games into three days at home against the Colorado Rockies, thanks to a doubleheader on Saturday.

With that, the Giants face a decision at the back end of that four-game series, according to reporting from NBC Sports Bay Area.

The first three starters are set, but Sunday’s game will likely be “Jordan Hicks’ last start or Alex Cobb’s first,” per the outlet.

Cobb is nearly ready to return from his injury rehab and after a strong start to the season while Hicks has trailed off in terms of performance, putting manager Bob Melvin in a bit of a spot.

Hicks has been a reliever most of his Major League career, but when the Giants signed him in the offseason they said they would convert him into a starter, something he wanted.

The early returns were promising.

He went 2-0 in his first six starts and kept his ERA under 2.00. Cobb and Robbie Ray started the season on the injured list. Blake Snell hit the IL after the season’s first three weeks. So Hicks’ performance was a great lift.

But the quality of those starts has gradually dropped. He went 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA in May, followed by an 0-2 June in which he had an ERA of 5.24. His three starts in July have been terrible — an 0-3 record and a 8.31 ERA.

NBC Sports Bay Area reported that the Giants would give Hicks one more start before a discussion about his role. But his last start on Tuesday — in which he gave up four earned runs and was unable to get out of the fourth inning — may have given them cause to reconsider.

Whether Hicks starts on Sunday may depend entirely upon Cobb’s readiness.

San Francisco had hoped Cobb would return earlier than this. He had offseason hip surgery and was expected to miss a portion of the regular season. But while doing rehab work for the hip he felt mild shoulder irritation before throwing a bullpen session on April 16. That landed him on the 60-day injured list four days later and took him out of the mix until at least late May.

He wasn’t ready to make a rehab start until June 30.

In his last rehab start this past weekend he was sharp, tossing five innings and not allowing a run. More importantly, he threw 60 pitches.

A return to the rotation would give the Giants another veteran arm as they try to stay in the playoff race and allow them to move Hicks to the bullpen.

As for the rest of the series, the Giants will start Kyle Harrison on Friday, followed by Blake Snell in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader and rookie Hayden Birdsong in Game 2.

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