It has been six months since we tied the knot at San Francisco City Hall. The practical city hall ceremony that I wanted, I got. Wish came true; thank you God. Since summer wedding is coming in full swing (and you’ll want to look great even if you’re not the bride), I’d like to share details of my San Francisco City Hall wedding outfit in which every piece was less than $100. Of course, it helped to have great friends, perfect natural afternoon light, and Arlene Coleman’s help in make-up and hair. They’re, naturally, priceless.

[shashin type=”photo” id=”4007″ size=”medium” columns=”max” order=”user” position=”left”]One week before the ceremony, we did a little “try out” dressing session to finalize all elements of the outfit. The dress, something that’s been picked up from Valencia St.’s Schuplatz back in 2010 for about $75 was originally a stage costume by Joseph Magnin.

There were some stray threads and minor stains, but the threads were easily fixable and the stains were jut not noticeable. Honestly, it was a magnificent investment; not only I can move freely and comfortably, the dress is just. so. GORGEOUS! It felt like destiny “meeting” this dress at Schauplatz.

One day, I’ll show my wedding outfit picture to Bernhard (Schauplatz’ shop keeper) and let him know that this dress was (still is) a true gem. I’m sure I’ll find another occasion for wearing this dress.

[shashin type=”photo” id=”4004″ size=”medium” columns=”max” order=”user” position=”right”] The city hall wedding outfit accessories were never bought in one fell swoop. They just…happened to be bought over time.

The shoes were first worn during my brother’s wedding (at that time, my mom bought it for me — thanks Mom!), the parisian beaded purse was bought at a thrift store in San Carlos for $25, the fingerless gloves were found at Powell St.’s H&M for $5, and the polkadot fascinator was bought in L.A. Fashion District during one trip for $27. Not bad, huh?

Total cost for the city hall wedding outfit: $132. That’s budget wedding enough for me :)

We didn’t want to hire a wedding photographer since it’s going to be a super intimate affair with just a handful of friends (and seriously, they’re expensive) and Chris is a brilliant photographer himself. Alas, he’s the groom, so of course we wanted him in the shoots, right? So here comes our best man Robby, tutored vigorously by Chris one hour before we left for the city hall on the ceremony day, equipped with nothing but a Fuji FinePix X100 (I shouldn’t say “nothing” really, the camera’s powerful denying its tiny body). I was sitting on a chair having my face and hair done by the generous and talented Arlene Coleman the whole time (once again, huge special thanks to Arlene!).

Long story short, the day went on smoothly. It was almost too good to be true, but I’m really thankful God gave us that day: great weather, great friends, great pictures, and a kind judge. Below were some of the pictures from the day. Sorry you don’t see the groom so much in these pics, he’s shy about sharing his pictures in public :)

[shashin type=”photo” id=”4010,4013,4019,4016,4020,4021″ size=”xlarge” columns=”max” order=”user” position=”center”]

*The most expensive part was the bouquet, that costed about $97 total. But the flowers stayed strong and only fully withered one month after, which was amazing.

Thanks for reading guys, have a great weekend (and a summer wedding, if you’ll have one),
Musank