Bride and Groom

Frolicking among the humanoid beaver sculptures at the old Portland Courthouse

Christine and Yang met one snowy evening six years ago at Boston's “Wonder Bar.” It was Yang's asymmetrical smile that drew Christine in and his dance moves that sealed the deal. Yang was drawn to Christine's bubbly energy and her chipmunk cheeks. After their eyes met from across the room, they danced the night away up until last call. As the lights in the bar came on, Christine distinctly remembers lingering on the dance floor, hoping that Yang would ask her for her number. Yang was so smitten with Christine that he almost forgot to do so, but he remembered at the last minute before they parted ways.

Enjoying a beer sampler at Deschutes Brewery in Portland

A few days later, they had their official first date at Crema Cafe in Harvard Square. Though both were nervous to meet in the light of day, relief spread over them as it became clear that their natural chemistry transcended the dance floor. Conversation flowed seamlessly from topics of cats with exceptional table manners to more serious matters of work and life—and though they intended to meet for just one hour, their first date extended well into the early evening. From the first moments of their relationship, a sense of comfort was palpable. She never had to explain one of her jokes, and he felt that he could open up and talk to her for hours.

Though much has changed over the last six years, nothing has changed more than the love between Yang and Christine—it is stronger than ever.

Wedding Party

Angelina Rha — Maid Of Honor

Angelina, a teacher and kick-boxer in training, is the youngest (and arguably, the cutest) of the three sisters. Throughout most of their childhood, passersby would mistake Christine and Angelina for twins. Who could blame them? The sisters often dressed in matching outfits and were infamous for their posed pictures. Angelina and Christine share a love of card games and will dominate any and all who are foolish enough to challenge them to a game of Taboo.  When she’s not listening to her "Disney Music" Pandora station or dreaming about potatoes, you can find Angelina color-coding her binders and fiddling with her CriCut.

Catharine Rha — Bridesmaid

A towering two inches taller than Christine, Catharine reigns as the eldest and tallest of the Rha triumvirate. Cat, the creative, free-spirited sister, is a landscape architect who lives in Queens and dons hipster-esque attire. She spends her free time scouring the internet for Lauryn Hill concerts, sipping whiskey, or wandering the MOMA. Though they have lived at opposite ends of the world, Cat and Christine remain forever united through their shared love of nature walking and championship-style napping. Cat knew that Yang was the one for Christine when she saw his resilience to the Rha sisters’ relentless and unabashed baby talking.

Chung Wu — Best Man

Chung popping many collars

Chung and Yang first met during a summer internship at Microsoft, where they got to know each other over episodes of Futurama and shared slices of pizza from that info session earlier, because no one was looking and the pizza is for everyone, right?  Throughout the rest of their school years and most of their professional lives, they went on to half-heartedly attend more talks and career fairs with increasingly exotic pizza selections.  One day, in a rare moment of hunger-induced clarity, Chung and Yang decided to join Vik in starting a company of their own, to become a producer rather than a consumer, in hopes that one day, they can bring an end to their pizza-hoarding ways.  This has not happened yet.

Eugene Wu — Groomsman

Eugene has been stuck in school for the past 22 years, and still has not graduated.  Yang and Eugene met in the summer before graduate school, where Eugene was slaving under Chung Wu's Iron Fist Management (TM) at Google. At MIT, Yang and Eugene bonded through their shared love of free food, zombies, and their advisor's deep, velvety voice.  They lived together, experiencing the highs and lows of friendship, and once shared a bed (Eugene claims, “only briefly,” but we leave you to draw your own conclusions).  Eugene enjoys dominating others in ultimate frisbee, cheating in t-shirt drawing competitions, and binge-watching torrents of Entourage. This fall, Eugene will implement Iron Fist Management (TM) in his new role as professor of computer science at Columbia University.

James Cowling — Officiant

James met Yang in grad school and immediately fell in love with his dance moves, coding skills, and uncanny ability to procure free food. To be honest, it was mostly the dance moves. Once Christine and Yang moved out west, James had no choice but to leave the sunny streets of Boston and venture to San Francisco to live near them. He is an Australian of sometimes-questionable immigration status and often-unintelligible accent, so is a perfect candidate for officiating their wedding. As an engineer at Dropbox, James ensures that the company doesn't lose everyone’s data. He enjoys drinking tea, singing karaoke, playing guitar and assembling IKEA furniture.

Travel and Transportation

Dogpatch Wineworks

Dogpatch Wineworks entrance

2455 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 (map)
(415) 525-4440

Driving

This is easily accessible off I-280 if you're driving in from outside the city. There is usually street parking within a three-block radius.

Public Transit

SF's public transit system is called Muni.  It includes both train routes (identified by letters) and bus routes (identified by numbers).  See sfmta.com for more info and nextmuni.com for live-updated next bus arrival times.

If you're coming from downtown SF, take the KT Muni line (the trains will be either the K or T trains) inbound toward Visitacion Valley (or toward Metro East Garage), and get off at the 20th St. stop. Dogpatch Wineworks will be a 0.1-mile walk from the stop. See Google Maps directions.

If you're coming from the 16th Street Mission BART station, take the 22 Muni bus outbound toward Portrero Hill, and get off at the 20th and 3rd St. stop (it will be the final stop). Dogpatch Wineworks will be a 0.1-mile walk from the stop. See Google Maps directions.

If you're coming from the 24th Street Mission BART station, take the 48 Muni bus inbound toward Portrero Hill, and get off at the 3rd St. and 22nd St. stop, which should be across the street from Dogpatch Wineworks. See Google Maps directions.

Uber/Lyft

Uber and Lyft are two popular modes of transportation in the Bay Area. These are typically much faster than SF's public transit (Muni). They are often comparable or lower in price when compared to cabs, while at the same time more convenient to call and pay.

Accommodations

In San Francisco, there are many different neighborhoods and options for lodging. Our wedding takes place in the Dogpatch/Potrero Hill area of San Francisco. 

Neighborhoods in San Francisco

When booking your lodging, some neighborhoods to avoid are Civic Center, the Tenderloin, and the Bayview. The downtown area is where most of the hotels and shopping take place, and staying near Powell or Montgomery BART stations is a convenient way to explore many areas via public transit. Be aware that parking is quite challenging in this neighborhood.

This is a handy guide to some of San Francisco’s Neighborhoods. 

Airbnb

Airbnb can be a more affordable option than hotels. We suggest finding a place near the Dogpatch Wineworks venue, either in the Dogpatch neighborhood or in the nearby Portrero Hill area—these are safe areas that are close to the venue location and also have abundant public transportation options to other neighborhoods in the city. Parking is reasonable in this neighborhood.

Renting a Car

If you choose to rent a car, you should be cognizant of whether your neighborhood has easy parking. Renting a car will allow you to take advantage of all the bay area has to offer, including beautiful hikes and scenery outside of the city. If you are renting a car, other options are to find lodging in the east bay, such as in Berkeley or Oakland. These two cities offer amazing weather, great dining options, and lots of cultural activities.

Things To Do Around San Francisco

Tourist Attractions

Check out some popular tourist attractions in SF and this travel guide!

SF Pride

Pride is an annual parade and festival in San Francisco to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities.  It is taking place throughout the weekend of June 27–28.  See sfpride.org for more info.

Other Things

Things We Do in Our Neighborhood

Part of the reason that we chose Dogpatch Wineworks as our wedding venue is its location. Just blocks from our house, we feel a closeness to Wineworks, as it situated in an area that is central to this moment in our lives. If you have some free time before or after the wedding, here are some neighborhood joints that we frequent.

Hard Knox Cafe 

Those of you who know Christine must be aware of her penchant for fried food.
Hard Knox Cafe has fantastic fried chicken! When we go, we always order the three piece chicken meal with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. It’s finger-lickin’ good!

Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous

This ice cream shop serves some of the most delicious ice cream in all of San Francisco. As they change their flavors quite frequently, you never know what they will be serving. You can be sure it will be something exciting, like Salty Mango, Frozen Hot Chocolate, or Thai Basil. Beware, this delicious ice cream shop has odd hours. It is usually closed by 6 PM and does not operate on Monday or Tuesdays. It IS the perfect pre-wedding treat. 

PLOW and Just for You Cafe

San Franciscans LOVE their brunch. Seriously. Patrons are known to regularly wait for 2 hours just to be seated. Known for their lemon-ricotta pancakes, the lines at PLOW are infamously long. They don't take reservations, so try to get there early on a weekday to avoid the lines. We often go to Just for You Cafe for weekend brunch. Their wait is much more reasonable and their breakfast is quite delicious. 

Other Places We Love and Frequent