Now that it’s crystal clear that hosting a wedding at this time is just not possible due to the spread of COVID-19, we’re sharing the experiences of real couples navigating the re-scheduling or cancellation process in an attempt to help others make informed decisions and to show our support to all during this time.
Katrina Semplinski, who postponed her San Francisco city hall wedding ceremony and reception party at Gallery 308, is sharing how she and her fiancé, Brian Foster, made the final call and why they decided to memorialize their original wedding date with a photoshoot around the city.
The plan was to get married at city hall on April 3rd, and then guests were to be transported by cable cars to St. Francis Yacht Club for dinner and speeches. The next day, they were going to host their reception party at Gallery 308 in Fort Mason, and the band Mustache Harbor was going to take everyone on a “yacht rock adventure.”
By March 9th, city hall had instituted a 50-person limit on all on-site scheduled events, so they immediately started trying to come up with a plan B. The following day, limits on public gatherings expanded, and by the end of the week, the yacht club had cancelled all private events through April and city hall had closed their marriage license department. On March 14th, Katrina and Brian sent out cancellation email to all their guests.
After hitting send, the engaged couple was felt completely helpless. The event they’d been planning for 14 months was no longer happening. “So many of our friends and family reached out with inspiring words of encouragement and love, reinforcing the fact that our love for each other was the focus and true celebration,” Katrina says. “This invigorated us to memorialize our would be wedding date by taking photos at some of our favorite spots around our neighborhood.”
Luckily, Brian’s tux from The Black Tux had already arrived; Nordstrom quickly shipped out Katrina’s wedding dress; and they were ready to go with their photographer, Reny Huelskamp. “We did not wake up with the normal butterflies and excitement on one’s wedding day—April 3rd, marking our 18th day of sheltering in place,” Katrina remembers. “Thankfully the wedding day fates blessed us with a blue bird day.”
As they were snapping photos outside of their favorite watering hole, Mauna Loa, the owner made a surprise appearance with the couple’s friends, who brought champagne to cheers with, while maintaining a mandated six-foot distance. Then, the pair picked up take-out espresso martinis and burgers from Balboa Cafe and headed home.
For their first dance, they twirled around their living room to “This Must Be The Place” by Talking Heads and posted it on their IG Stories for all their friends and family to view. “When you start to peel away the layers of planning and detail, the heart of the matter is the love between two people,” Katrina says. “No amount of money, pomp and circumstance, or tradition should cloud the true meaning of marriage—no matter how much I love the blue suede Chloe boots I acquired for the occasion!”
As for the future of their ceremony, as soon as Sin City reopens, they’re planning on booking a flight and heading to A Little White Wedding Chapel. “We can’t wait to see our friends and family in Vegas!”
