I had the treat of photographing my San Francisco sister, Claire, (truly my family here!) and her husband’s San Francisco city hall wedding. Claire Xue is a visionary and a true stunner. It was no surprise that even though San Francisco city hall wedding photography is my tried and true space, Claire and Mickaël’s take on it was refreshing and new. The way she shares her life on Instagram makes her the better narrator for their story, read on for all the details!

How Their Story Began

(May 20, 2019) We have officially been together for two years today. If you guys know me, I am not about sharing personal life online. So does my husband. But today I want to share this with you. 2 years ago I met Mickaël in a gay bar at Castro. The first thing I asked him is “Are you gay?” Lol… he said no, obviously. We were friends for about six months before we got into this relationship. I preferred it that way. I’ve gotten to know him as a friend first.

Fast forward to this January; I was under so much pain and stress because of work and visa issues. My previous visa was going to end on February 15th. One day after work, I finally fell apart and realized my physical and mental health was suffering. I had patches on my head from where I was losing hair, my body couldn’t function. I told myself I should go home (China is where my family lives) and this is not worth it. I called Mickaël and cried, told him I just want to go home now. I tried so hard to stay, and I don’t know if this is still worth it.

Choosing A San Francisco City Hall Wedding

He proposed the next night after; it wasn’t planned. It was just the 2 of us at his apartment in the dark. He asked me to marry him because he couldn’t see me suffer any longer. He bought the ring a while ago and was planning to propose later. I didn’t say yes right away, not because I didn’t want to marry him, I did that because I wanted to make sure that this is the right thing to do and I certainly didn’t see the proposal was coming – at least not that soon. But he told me there is no pressure if I think this isn’t the best time. He can ask me again later. That’s when I knew I couldn’t wait to marry him. I didn’t want him to ask me again.

A few weeks after, we got married at City Hall in San Francisco. It wasn’t a big wedding ceremony, just a few friends and us because we had to get married faster than we wanted to for my visa. But it was the most special day of my life! I am so thankful that God has put this man in my life. He is a beautiful human being with the most tender heart! Happy two years! 

Their Blush Wedding Details

(May 29, 2019) These are the shoes Mickaël, and I wore on our wedding day.  No big wedding dress and expensive formal suit, and I made my bouquet and his boutonniere. It was so chill and special to me.

We decided to get married right after we got engaged, I didn’t have time to buy a wedding dress and shoes, and he also didn’t have the time to shop anything either. However, I still wanted to photograph the special moment. I thought it would be better to coordinate outfits together at least. So I quickly bought the simple blush dress from @reformation and pulled out my favorite @jacquemus shoes I purchased last year.

When Mickaël asked me what he should wear, I told him just his sport suit and a white t-shirt @xsuit that he got on kickstarter – LOLZ (he buys a lot of things on kickstarter). They are surprisingly great. He asked me what shoes he should wear. I told him the blush @commonprojects sneakers I got him for Christmas. I think he was like, “really a t-shirt and sneakers?” He looked great on our wedding day. I have to say! 

I skipped the process of sipping champagne and trying out different dresses experience and I am ok with it. 

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I love my sister’s story and I can’t wait to be with you to tell yours. Looking for a San Francisco city hall wedding photographer? I GOCHU! Send me a message in the contact form below. I’ll send you rate sheets, example galleries, and resources!