The CREAM Event started way back in 2011, as a wedding event put together by the Ladies with Flawless Taste at Bash Please. When it started, it was the only wedding event in the history of time that had ever actually been… cool. (Okay, there was that one time that Martha Stewart Weddings threw a party where the cotton candy glowed, but that was an industry-only event that basically nobody could go to.) And while the wedding industry has improved and gotten cooler in general since 2011 (thanks, Internet!), The CREAM Event still pretty much sets the bar for wedding cool.
So we were thrilled when this year the team at Bash Please brought The CREAM Event up to San Francisco for the first time. And while we’re still determined to get down to The CREAM Event in LA (because LA has the coolest wedding scene around, true facts), it was really fun to get to attend in our own backyard.
San Francisco’s wedding scene has always been a little more formal and traditional, so when you layered The CREAM Event’s theme this year of waking dreams, with a dose of neon white (sigh) and lavender… the results were pretty magical. And by magical, I mean a lot of Prince-themed cocktails and holographic tablescapes (thanks, universe).
Plus, Michael Antonio of The Flashdance DJed, and there was a dance contest, and I, at least, danced myself into oblivion. By which I mean out of a huge crowd, I’m proud to say I took third place. SLAY ALL DAY here people. (I’ve been saying for nine years that dancing is my favorite part of weddings, and I’m not joking around.)
So with that, let’s get some eye candy on!
The event was held at The Bently Reserve the former San Francisco Federal Reserve, which is as fancy and gorgeous as it sounds.
The entry was framed by some bonkers lush florals put together by Lambert Floral Studio with help from Torchio Nusery and the Bash Please team. High Camp Supply‘s signature gardenias were the highlight and smelled so incredible as we walked through. Seriously, if only you guys could smell these.
We managed to nab a gift bag, which was packed with lots of good stuff, like flavored salts, a record from The Shrines, delicious treats from the catering vendors, a style book from The Black Tux, 3D printed soap (that smells like heaven!), and even a tiny diamond from Starling. My fave item was The Flashdance’s new bone-shakingly angry political mixtape. My kids request it every time they’re in the car, so I can only assume they’re absorbing good things (and a lot of rage).
Found rentals had an awesome display of gorgeous vintage pieces to incorporate into any style. You must check out their inventory, they have the MOST unique stuff. 
One of my favorite things was florist Amanda Vidmar Designs doing a live installation with time lapse photography by Weddings on Film.
And don’t worry, she used all those flowers for an event the next day.
Buzzworthy SF had this great table setup (there was a moment where a lit candle fell and rolled across the space that terrified us all for a sec, but hey, marble has its uses).
Paula le Duc Fine Catering set up a crazy beautiful booth with an elegant array of savory sorbets and also greeted us with delish beverages.
The joke around the office is that I like all my food CLASSIC. So if I get a hamburger, I want a HAMBURGER, amazing but no frills. Which means I was obviously super discombobulated by these savory sorbets by Paula le Duc Fine Catering. People swore to me they were good, and they were gorgeous, and they were super outside the box. In other words, I’m maybe here for a coconut savory sorbet, but not at all here for beet sorbet. WHERE DO YOU STAND?
To the folks of High Camp Supply passing out gardenias, you were everything, and we love you. The smell in car on the way home was so amazing.
While I always want my cake to be made of… cake (see above, with my classic food tastes), this concoction by The Cheese School was the prettiest cake made of cheese I’ve ever seen. And the rest of the office may well like cheese better than cake, so they’d downvote me in a second.
The always lovely folks at Minted had a designer there doing custom calligraphy, so we all snagged some custom name cards for our desks. Plus we got to see a ton of their newest custom gold-foil invites, and they are everything in person.
Woman-owned jewelry brand Starling makes all of their stuff ethically in LA. The prices are good, the jewelry is gorgeous, and I really enjoyed chatting up the owner.
FINALLY SWEETS. Meadowood Napa Valley plied us with chocolates and macaroons, which our photographer Christina Richards and I split up and shoved in our mouths when no one was looking, so we didn’t have to share them.
I remember back when Smilebooth was founded, and it remains the most creative and stylish photo booth company in the business. This magical cotton candy with flowers display was made by the always excellent Jesi Haack Designs.
STOP EVERYTHING, because one of the things I love most about working in the wedding industry is all the women-owned businesses, and all the family friendly events. I didn’t bring my babies, but when a babysitter cancelled The de Jauregui’s brought theirs and… SHE IS PERFECT RIGHT? Also, can you even with all the great furniture here from Yeah! Rentals?!
Right, I obviously didn’t shove a bunch of these mini wedding cake slices by Taste Catering in my mouth really quickly while nobody was looking, because I’m a class act. Or did I?
The Black Tux was there, and their rental suits are KILLER you guys, just saying. I was really, really impressed.
The above photos look super staged, but I can assure you they are not. Joy is a tablet that works as an interactive, digital family photo album. As someone who gets a whole lot of family photos taken (it is one of the great blessings of working in the industry) and takes just as many myself, I was pretty hooked. Our photos currently live on a million hard drives and cloud storage sites, and the idea of getting them all in one place is pretty magical.
The team at Zola Weddings, who hosted the evening along with Bash Please, had a super pretty, super dreamy set up. It was great getting to see a full lineup of their offerings IRL.
I want a white neon sign yesterday, though I’m pretty sure this sign by Single Stone is a variation of the El Wire tutorial we did a few years back, so if you want to make your own affordable neon sign for your wedding, we gotchu.
This holographic table scape by Casa de Perrin, with bonkers florals by Tulipina Design and paper goods by Amber Moon Design is amazing, and would it be too much if I went full hologram in my life right now? Regardless, some of you should layer on the holograms for your wedding and SEND US PICTURES.
Every party that I go to that has amazing linens (like this one, at my friend Jordan’s space), always seems to have gotten their stuff at La Tavola, so it’s no surprise that this rack of linens is one of the dreamiest photos of the whole event.
Oh sorry, can we talk about The Dart Collective? They invite us to their holiday party every year, but it’s in LA, so we can’t ever make it. But after seeing The Shrines rock out for a few hours, the office is begging me to take a Christmas road trip to LA. You know, for work.
With the band playing, we all started warming up for the dance contest, or at least I did.
And warming up for the dance contest obviously means drinks with Prince’s face on them by Estate Events by Meadowood. I know. I KNOW. They printed images on thin sheets of rice paper and floated them on the most delicious cocktails. How can we ever drink a normal cocktail now??
So shoes off, and let’s get this party started, amiright?
Things were still pretty chill till The Flashdance started playing, and yes HE IS AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED. MAYBE MUCH BETTER. Dancing to him spinning was everything.
So we all pinned on our numbers and got down.
While the ladies from Bash Please judged the dance floor from above, clearly enjoying all their hard work paying off.
You guys. It was really, really good. 
And then I finally got kicked off the dance floor (I was sheeting sweat by that point) and the final couple and single lady got DOWN TO BUSINESS.
A bunch of us ladiez got behind the single lady left on the floor….
And she won to huge cheers and popular demand.
It was a magical night, you guys. We loved being in such a beautiful space with so many killer vendors. And while most of us will probably not have weddings quite this lush (though I met some bomb-ass APW readers on the dance floor who will), enjoying a pretend one every so often, and nabbing a million ideas? That I’m ALL in for.
