K
RISTIN SOONG AND Phillip Rapoport first met in college at Columbia University. At the time, Kristin, now a trader for a bank in New York, and Phillip, who currently works for a software company, were both dating other people. “In college, it wasn’t really meant to be, and when our first date [a motorcycle ride to their alma mater] actually happened, everything sort of fell into place from there,” says Kristin, a San Francisco native who fatefully ran into Phillip at a New York bar in 2008 after returning from a year working abroad in São Paulo, Brazil. Four years later, the couple planned a trip to Rome, where Phillip proposed on the first night at the Piazza del Popolo. After deliberating over the perfect wedding venue (Aspen Mountain in Colorado was also a top contender), the couple settled on San Francisco’s Legion of Honor for both the ceremony and reception. “To me, the building looks like the buildings where we got engaged in Rome,” says Kristin. In a nod to their ancestry (Kristin hails from a Chinese, Irish and German background, while Phillip is Russian and English), the couple hosted a traditional Chinese banquet for the rehearsal dinner, and served Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and signature cocktails such as Moscow mules and cucumber-infused Hendrick’s gin martinis on the big day. For the decor, they enlisted San Francisco planner Melissa Panico of MAP Events, who reimagined the neoclassical space with mercury glass votives, centerpieces with ranunculus and succulents by Cherries Flowers, and a lounge area with French-inspired furniture. “I think the best thing was just having everybody come from all over the world and spend a weekend in my hometown,” says Kristin, who wore a lace dress by Monique Lhuillier. “Having everyone around you to celebrate a moment like that only happens once.” •
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VENUE Legion of Honor CAKE Cake Coquette MENU Global Gourmet Catering DRESS Monique Lhuillier SHOES Christian Louboutin FLORIST Cherries Flowers ENTERTAINMENT Starlite Strings PLANNER MAP Events RENTALS Hartmann Studios STATIONERY A Day in May Design VIDEOGRAPHY Weddings on Film HONEYMOON Japan and Bali
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP “I wanted to do the ceremony outside on the lawn, and I figured September would be the best chance of good weather and not too much fog,” says Kristin of the wedding in her hometown, San Francisco. The bride’s Louboutins. A seating area off the dance floor with French-inspired settees. The new couple and their families. Rapoport and Soong share a dance. The idyllic ceremony setting.