Stephanie + Alex by Kristine & Charles - Together Journal

When Alex first reached out, Stephanie was travelling in Vietnam and didn’t see his message, so the match expired.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Alex, originally from Maryland, moved to San Francisco for a job opportunity at Meta, where he worked for almost 5 years. He now works in product growth at Shopify. Stephanie, a gastroenterology physician, was born and raised in San Francisco and convinced Alex to stay in California.

No matter where they are or where they travel, they are always in search of the best coffee and breakfast sandwiches (and acai bowls, in Alex’s case)! When they’re not drinking coffee and eating, you’ll find them hiking in the Bay Area or hanging out at home with their tuxedo cat, Winston.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

Alex and Stephanie met through the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel. When Alex first reached out, Stephanie was travelling in Vietnam and didn’t see his message, so the match expired. But through fate, Alex thought this was a person worth pursuing and so bought some “beans” to re-open the conversation (and the rest is history!).

Their first date was at a coffee shop in Hayes Valley, a neighbourhood in San Francisco. Alex thought Stephanie had a beautiful smile and infectious laugh. Stephanie thought Alex was aloof. But after getting to know each other better, they both decided they really enjoyed the conversation and wanted to meet again.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

Alex first knew Stephanie was the one for him after eavesdropping on her patient calls when she worked from home. The amount of care, compassion, and dedication she gives to her patients every day is a sight to behold. She extends that care to the loved ones in her life and is always willing to put others first.

Stephanie realized Alex was the one when he embraced her eccentricities and quirks (she is very particular about certain things around the house) and moved to Sacramento for 2 years while she finished her fellowship training. He is supportive, dependable, and always there for her.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

The proposal was at Lovers Lane in the Presidio in San Francisco. Alex attempted to make it a surprise, even enlisting a friend to invite her for drinks at a nearby bar. But when he suggested a quick detour into the park before meeting for drinks, Stephanie quickly figured out what was going on. She even asked him, “Are you sure you want to wear that jacket?” in anticipation of what was to come. But though the surprise was ruined, she still said yes. Afterwards, Stephanie’s sister and two close friends popped out from their hiding spot nearby, along with a photographer who had been capturing the event the whole time, and everyone celebrated together.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.

We wanted a wedding that felt intimate and personal, but we also wanted it to be outdoors. Allied Arts Guild was the perfect venue for this – it has a beautiful ceremony space filled with greenery and a very private yet spacious outdoor reception/dinner space. All of our guests loved the venue and commented on how seamless the flow was from each part of the evening to the next.

It was very important to Alex’s parents that we have a Jewish ceremony and we could not have been more pleased with how it turned out. Our officiant did a fantastic job, and the chuppah was stunning.

In terms of style, I wanted the evening to feel like an intimate fall garden party, classic and elegant but with modern touches. And since our wedding took place in the fall, we took full advantage of fall colors (deep pinks, reds, and purples) with the decor. We were so thrilled with the florals (the cake and bouquet in particular!!!) and colour palette!! Our florist and planner did an amazing job.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Definitely food. From our welcome drinks event to the wedding dinner + desserts, and finally the after-party, we wanted our guests to be well fed and stuffed (in a good way)! And as I am a huge sweet tooth, a churro cart was the perfect way to end the night.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

During our grand entrance, our DJ/officiant accidentally announced us as “Stephanie and David Taylor.” “David” is Alex’s dad’s name. At the moment, we were stunned and did not know what to do, but we carried on, and Alex’s dad, who gave the welcome toast, was able to make a good joke out of it.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

The most unique parts of our outfits were our accessories. Alex wore his grandfather’s watch. Alex’s grandfather, Sasha, a Holocaust survivor, was working for the US army in Europe after WWII and saw a Patek Philippe watch worn by an army officer. Sasha offered to trade his new portable radio for it, but the officer refused.

Every day, Sasah would bring the radio to the mess hall and listen to it in front of the officer. After several weeks, the officer finally agreed to trade the watch for the radio. The watch was then passed on to Alex’s father, who wore it at his wedding, and then to Alex. I wore Alex’s mom’s wedding earrings and one of my best friend’s wedding bracelets.

Alex and I really wanted to wear pieces that had meaning to us and reminded us of our closest family and friends.