The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco Real Wedding: How Sweet It Is

San Francisco couple Pegah Faed and Amir Rashidifar knew they wanted to get married in the town they call home. They scoured the city looking for the perfect place before falling in love with The Ritz-Carlton. “I’d actually been to a wedding there when I was 12 or 13, and I thought it was beautiful,” says Pegah. “After meeting with Marianne, the hotel’s wedding coordinator, we knew that out of all the venues in San Francisco, it was the best.”

“This shot was taken in the hotel lobby,” Pegah explains. The backdrop matched the look and feel she wanted for her wedding — modern and romantic. While the ceremony was held around a traditional Persian sofreh, or altar, the couple wanted to mix the customary elements with a clean, contemporary style.

Pegah and Amir take turns getting ready in the hotel’s Presidential Suite, which is offered to any couple on their wedding night. The generous space includes a piano and a 1,200-square-foot balcony, where staff provided refreshments and hors d’oeuvres for the bridal party. The best part, says Pegah? “That’s where we saw each other for the first time, just the two of us. And we can always go back.”

Pegah had always wanted a tented outdoor wedding, a relative rarity in San Francisco but a beautiful option in the hotel’s graceful Terrace Courtyard. Here, the couple honors their heritage with a Persian wedding tradition. “The women from the family hold a cloth over our heads and grind sugar cane on top to symbolize bringing the sweetness from their lives into our marriage.”

Though grand enough to accommodate a much larger event, the ballroom was set up to provide a comfortable, intimate atmosphere for the reception. The addition of accent lightning gives the whole room a romantic tone.

“The property handled all the food and the meal got rave reviews,” Pegah says. “And the cake was gorgeous and delicious, though I only got one bite!” The sweetest part, though, was her peace of mind. “The staff thought of everything. We brought our dog and she stayed in the suite during the reception — Marianne even went and checked on her. We hadn’t asked her to do that.”

That first dance marked the start of a big party. “I didn’t sit down once,” says Pegah. She danced the night away knowing that everything would go just as planned — and sometimes even better. “At the end of the evening, we got back to the suite and Marianne had left us champagne, chocolate strawberries and, best of all, a photo of us cutting our cake. It was just amazing.”

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