Artful Wedding
Filed under Locations, Off Beat, ReceptionsPssst…It starts with a cool and classy location!
One Taste
San Francisco
During the week, One Taste is a café, gallery, and holistic body center; on the weekend, this feel-good urban oasis is transformed into an organic backdrop for special events. When the proprietors renovated the historic two-story clapboard building, they made it a model of sustainability and “green” design. In the ground floor room, a warm terracotta color scheme and a waterfall fountain set a jazzy mood for sipping chardonnay at copper tables and perusing the sensual art and photography on the walls. One Taste favors local artists with avant-garde interpretations of the human form, so everyone will have plenty to talk about. Upstairs, a white-walled studio boasts a beautifully refinished Douglas fir floor. Almost anything goes in this attractive, unrestricted setting, from an elegant candlelight dinner to a casual lounge-style gathering. SF Weekly dubbed One Taste “certifiably hip, slick and cool.”
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco
A stunning monument to the City’s cultural mastery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has been hailed for its cutting-edge Modernist architecture. It’s also a boldly sophisticated setting for lavish affairs, particularly the spacious Atrium. Black-and-gray marble floors and columns form an engaging contrast to honey-colored birch walls, and a skylit roof showers the guests with a natural glow. Brides look ultra-glamorous poised on the open spiral staircase that winds its way up five floors to an aerial bridge. In the adjoining Schwab Room, dreamy specialty illumination gives receptions a romantic patina. Take your gala to the next level—literally—by reserving one of SFMOMA’s upper galleries. The traditional social hour takes on an exciting originality when guests circulate among the vibrant brushstrokes of Pollock, the provocative interpretations of Duchamp, or Kahlo’s searing imagery. Both versatile and remarkable, SFMOMA helps make your celebration as unforgettable as the surroundings.
San Jose Museum of Art
San Jose
Holding court on a palm tree-shaded plaza, the San Jose Museum of Art is a study in stylistic contrasts—the Historic Wing, constructed in 1892 from golden, rough-hewn sandstone, is a paragon of Beaux-Arts design; the modern New Wing houses the museum’s soaring Lobby, also known as party central at SJMA. Hung with scintillating glass chandeliers by famed artist Dale Chihuly that set the marble floors agleam, this open, airy space also boasts a second-story balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking an outdoor sculpture court. Solid oak floors and gracefully arched windows lend grandeur to gatherings held in the Historic Wing. Docent-lead art tours are insurance against ho-hum social hours. In fact, your entire event conveys a certain daring, thanks to high-caliber contemporary displays including modern masterworks and 3-D digital installations.
Terra
San Francisco
Gifted with more than its share of urban chic, Terra epitomizes the synergy of modern art and high-tech. This expansive loft-style event space-cum-gallery has sliding drapes that delineate two adjoining, yet distinct, areas for maximum party flow. For instance, say “I do” in front of the Entertainment Room’s 40-foot floor-to-ceiling windows that capture a dynamic cityscape; then invite guests into the Gallery to dine among the paintings and sculpture on exhibit. Tech is big here, and with customizable lighting and multimedia capabilities, you can project oversized photos of the newlyweds on the white-washed brick walls, while guests dance atop burnished hardwood floors to music playing on Terra’s state-of-the-art Bose sound system. Both rooms possess a sophisticated yet minimalist aesthetic, encouraging you to unleash your decorative fantasies. Whether you opt for elegant or eclectic, this versatile venue and its creative staff can turn your party into a work of art.
Triton Museum of Art
Santa Clara
Designed with special events in mind, the Triton’s high ceilings, immaculate angular white walls, and terrazzo floors make a superb backdrop not only for fine art, but for swank receptions, too. Outdoors, redwood-studded meadows accented with all types of statuary make plein air wedding ceremonies a delight; but the party really gets into gear inside the museum proper. The coolly elegant Rotunda has marble floors and sinuous floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the seven-acre Sculpture Garden. The galleries feature polished blond hardwood floors, advanced lighting, and pyramidal skylights that make your gathering sparkle amid contemporary exhibits. One recent success was an installation of Younhee Park’s luminous sky paintings—large celestial landscapes on billowing, draped canvases suspended overhead. A permanent display in the Warburton Gallery invites guests to wine and dine while appreciating the modern Native American art and historical artifacts. Triton is dynamic, evocative, different…just the way you envision your celebration!
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