San Francisco, CA
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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The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
Bay Area High School baseball fans are treated to a rare opportunity Saturday (April 18) with three games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, including the famed Bruce-Mahoney clash between West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first pitch of the 20th annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic starts at 11 a.m. and pits two more San Francisco private schools as University (9-7), winners of four straight, taking on Riordan (5-11).
That will be followed by the Bruce-Mahoney game at 2:30 between St. Ignatius (12-5, 4-2 WCAL) and the Irish (7-10, 1-5) and finished off with a North Coast Section clash between North Bay’s Marin Catholic (9-7) against Acalanes (7-6-1).
The Benedetti Classic, founded by Dante’s Boys Foundation board member Tom Lounibos and Giants president Larry Baer, benefits the DBF which honors the spirit of Benedetti who for nearly 40 years owned San Francisco’s Mr. Baseball nickname for his kindness and generosity to baseball-playing youth in the area.
Among their philanthropic efforts are glove and baseball equipment drives, field renovations and contributions to scholarships and sponsorships.
After starting the season 0-4 — three of those losses were by one run — University, under head coach Andrew Suvunnachuen, has found its way, winning the last four, all in Bay Counties League play, by a combined 51-6 count over Lick-Wilmerding (16-1 and 11-3) and San Domenico (13-2 and 11-0).
Senior catcher and pitcher Jett Messenger leads the way with a .447 average, while getting on base at a .638 rate. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Tate Gebhart is hitting .419, while Leo Felder and Behbart share the RBI lead with 15 each.
Junior Matthew Foley is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
Riordan, under second-year head coach Craig Sargent, was 5-5 in nonleague games but lost six straight in the rugged WCAL, losing two tough games this week to Mitty (3-2 and 7-4). Junior third baseman and pitcher Santiono Williams leads the team in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.488) and stolen bases (nine). He’s also been the team’s top pitcher at 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
The teams have split two previous games in their history, with Riordan winning 2-0 in 2023 and University prevailing 5-0 in 2021.
St. Ignatius, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Pollzzie, has already secured the Bruce-Mahoney trophy with four straight wins — one each in football, girls volleyball, boys basketball and girls basketball — but this rivalry is always spirited.
The Wildcats, who are ranked fourth in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle, are coming off a tough 3-0 home loss to No. 2 St. Francis on Friday after beating the host Lancers 10-6 on Tuesday.
The team is led by Stanford-bound Archer Horn, who is hitting .486 with four home runs and a .604 on-base percentage. The shortstop and pitcher also has not allowed an earned run in three pitching appearances while registering one save.
Pitching is a team’s strength with a 2.59 ERA, led by a brigade of strong arms including Leo Rhein (2-0, 2.38), Tycco Giometti (2-1, 2.62), Charlie Stecher 1-1, 0.72) and Chase Gordon (1-0, 2.80). The team is missing standout Finn Demuth, out of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, led by fourth-year head coach Gregg Franceschi, has scored 60 runs on the season and given up 61. The Irish are coming off two losses to eighth-ranked Valley Christian (5-2 and 10-1).
They are led offensively by junior outfielder Brody O’Sullivan (.381) and senior infielder Jacob Vines (.378). Johnny Nepomuceno and Max Nylander are other run-producers. Zach Stallworth (37 strikeouts, 29.2 innings) and Cooper Rogers Lewis (0.25 ERA) have been the team’s top pitchers.
The series has been remarkably close since 2005 with Sacred Heart Cathedral holding a 27-20 edge, though St. Ignatius won both games last season (5-0 and 6-3) after the Irish won 9-7 and 1-0 in 2024.
Marin Catholic hopes to get back to winning after starting the season 9-1, but have since lost six straight, four in Marin County Athletic League play, including 4-2 to Novato on Thursday. Senior outfield Luke Martin is the team’s leading hitter at .478 while senior infielder and pitcher Cooper Mitchell is at .455. Senior infielder Walker Untermann leads the team with 15 RBIs.
Acalanes is at the other end of the spectrum, winners of five of six after a 2-5-1 start. Junior infielder Tyler Winkles, also a highly recruited quarterback in football, leads the team with a .383 average and nine stolen bases. Riley Gates (2-3, 2.49 ERA, 30 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher.
The teams have played three times, all since 2022, with Marin Catholic owning a 2-1 lead. Acalanes won last year’s game 8-7.
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