Marcia & Sarah reached out to me in early spring of last year. They were planning a trip from Singapore to California - first to San Francisco where Marcia would show Sarah the life she once lived as a student in SF, and then down to LA where they would start to plan their intimate weekday wedding, scheduled for March 1, 2018.
Legal marriage isn't an option, yet, for Marcia & Sarah back home in Singapore, so they wanted to be married somewhere where they could be celebrated and legally recognized. Choosing a city with a vibrant restaurant scene was their second priority (because a week of eating well is this TV chef & filmmaker duo's idea of heaven), and the reason they landed in Los Angeles for their destination wedding.
But they wanted to have an engagement session in Oakland, where Marcia had spent years exploring as a student and small business owner (she sold her own kaya, which she started making for herself in the throws of homesickness - she was missing her own food). We connected with Nora, the owner of Drip Line, one of my favorite cafes in Oakland, and they chowed down on sweet and savory breakfast waffles, all infused with Nora's own Singaporean flavors.
Afterwards, we went to Mountain View Cemetery at the top of Piedmont Ave, which secretly has one of my favorite views in the East Bay.
