FAQs
Question
What is the dress code?
Answer
The dress code for our wedding day is black tie. Men usually wear tuxedos and women typically wear floor length gowns. The dress code for our welcome party is cocktail attire. Think suits for men, and semi-formal mini or midi dresses for women. Farewell pastries and coffee will be casual -- come as you are!
Question
What are the entrée choices for dinner at the reception?
Answer
There are three options to choose from for your entrée: salmon, beef filet, or mushroom risotto (vegetarian). Please note your selection on your RSVP card. - Salmon with carrot purée, herb gnocchi, mushrooms, asparagus tips, and lemon butter. - Seared filet of beef with potato pavé, grilled asparagus, oven roasted cipollini, wild mushrooms, and truffle jus. - Mushroom risotto (vegetarian) with asparagus tips, grilled maitake mushrooms, sage, and grated parmesan.
Question
Is there transportation to and from the hotels to the ceremony?
Answer
We will have shuttles leaving from the Fairmont to transport guests to and from our ceremony at Saint Dominic's Church. The other hotels (Mark Hopkins and Stanford Court) are a short walk to the Fairmont. More info to come on this later!
Question
Can I bring a plus one?
Answer
We will only be able to accommodate the guests listed on your invitation.
Question
Are children welcome?
Answer
We love your children, but this will be an adults only event. Thank you for understanding!
Question
Can I take photos during the ceremony?
Answer
We kindly ask that you do not take photos or videos during the ceremony. We have wonderful photographers and videographers to capture the ceremony, and we would love for our guests to be fully present with us.
Question
Why San Francisco and the Fairmont?
Answer
We first met and dated in San Francisco. Dominic had lived and worked in the Bay Area since 2013 when he started college at UC Berkeley and Katherine moved to SF in 2017 for work after she finished college at Tufts in Boston. Katherine lived at the very top of Nob Hill for four of the six years she lived in San Francisco, and her apartment directly overlooked Grace Cathedral and the Fairmont just beyond. We made Nob Hill our first home together during our final year in San Francisco.
Question
The history of Nob Hill...
Answer
During the Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, the Nob Hill neighborhood was where the wealthiest residents known as “Nobs” built their mansions including the “Big Four” railroad tycoons who built the Central Pacific Railroad. When a massive earthquake struck San Francisco in 1906, almost every structure on Nob Hill was destroyed. The Fairmont San Francisco is named after James Graham Fair who made his fortune in Nevada silver mining, real estate and railroads. After his death, his daughters built the grand Beaux-Arts hotel and named it after him on land he had purchased to build his own estate amongst the other mansions atop Nob Hill (“mont”). The 1906 earthquake struck on the same day that the hotel was scheduled for its grand opening -- the structure survived, but the interior was gutted by fire. Exactly one year later in 1907, the newly renovated Fairmont opened its doors with a gala so extravagant that it became known as “a hotel so grand they built a city around it.” Since then, the Fairmont has hosted many historic events. For example, the United Nations was created there in 1941 (the flags on the front represent the member nations which participated,) and in 1961, Tony Bennett first sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at the Venetian Room Supper Club. The InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel opened in 1926 and was built upon the site of Mark Hopkins, Jr.’s lavish 1878 mansion that was destroyed by the earthquake. Mark Hopkins had moved from New York to San Francisco for business ventures related to the Gold Rush and became one of San Francisco’s “Big Four” founders of the Central Pacific Railroad. Since the hotel’s opening, it has hosted dignitaries, royals and celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, and Charles de Gaulle, and also played a role in the founding of the United Nations. For incredible views, visit the Top of the Mark cocktail lounge.