French-Filipino Fusion Wedding for Ken and Emily | SF Bay Area Weddings

Oh là là! Ay yay yay!

This recent May wedding was by far…one of the best times I’ve had on the job. I met L.A. based Emily and Ken, through the bride’s cousin who somehow knew of me, and was acting as go-between for the wedding planning. And when I met them in person, I knew immediately that they were “my peeps.” Both pretty laid-back and chill, Ken and Emily wanted a wedding that reflected they valued most in life: family. With that in mind, their wedding was a true celebration of the two families united to form a big old mass of happy people, bond by love, marriage and shared genetic make-up.

Emily shared her passion for travel and France through the lovely crafted details, strewn throughout the wedding. From the custom made passport invitation, the Eiffel tower of macaroons, on-site crepe bar and whimsical french luggage…each detail was meticulously designed and thoughtfully placed.

While the wedding was French by design, it was definitely Filipino in nature. The wedding started off with a traditional Catholic mass at Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. It was followed by a hotel reception at the Marriott Hotel in San Mateo, abound with food, libations and laughter. And sticking to Filipino tradition, the guests came ready with their dancing shoes (and wads of cash!) to participate the traditional Curacha wedding dance. Most people are familiar with the Filipino version of the money dance. The Curacha (also spelled kuratsa) dance is from the Visayan region of the Philippines and I can only describe it as playful, slightly flirty and definitely fun. The Curacha is a traditional courtship dance, in which couples mimmick the motions of mating birds. At the wedding, Emily and Ken danced the prosperity portion of the dance, in which money is thrown on a blanket. The cash is later offered to the bride as as symbol of the groom’s devotion to take care of the family. It was BLAST to watch and photograph.