Ayushi and Aakash — A December Wedding at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco
Ayushi and Aakash's day began in San Jose with a Hindu ceremony surrounded by family. (Read that story here). By the time we met in San Francisco, the formalities were behind them and what remained was pure celebration. Warm, unhurried, and full of the kind of ease that only comes when everyone in the room genuinely loves each other.
Their first date was at Blue Bottle Coffee on Fillmore. So that's where we started. Soft winter light, familiar surroundings, and the kind of ease that comes from being somewhere that already means something to you. It felt less like a portrait session and more like slipping back into a shared memory.
From Fillmore we made our way to Alta Plaza Park as golden hour settled in. The city stretched out behind them, the light went warm and low, and there was nothing to do but be present with each other. That's the rhythm I try to find in every session. This one had it from the start.
By evening we were at the Legion of Honor. Guests moved through the museum galleries during cocktail hour, wandering past art and sculpture as conversations found their own pace. Dinner followed in the Legion Café. Candlelight, florals, and a room that doesn't need much to feel like exactly the right place to be.
Later, the celebration came alive. Desi Offbeats filled the room with music, and the dance floor quickly became the heart of the evening. Generations moved together, dancing, laughing, fully present. The kind of energy that can't be planned, only felt.
Glances exchanged across the room. Hands finding each other mid-song. Quiet pauses in the middle of everything. Those are the frames I'm always looking for, and this day had no shortage of them.
Ayushi and Aakash, it was an honor to be there for all of it. For couples drawn to the Legion of Honor — there is no venue quite like it in San Francisco. Timeless, unhurried, and somehow both grand and intimate at once. It's exactly the kind of space that lets a celebration breathe.
Booking intimate weddings and engagements in San Francisco and beyond. Inquire at mdeacreative.com.
Vendor Team
Planner & Designer: @2the9sevents
Venue: @legionofhonor
Catering: @gracestreetcatering + @jalsacatering
Rentals: @ampartyrentalsinc
Photography: @mdeacreative
Florals: @poppycart.co
Entertainment: @desi_offbeats
Hair & Makeup: @paintedladiesforever
Transportation: @pure_luxury_transportation
Film by Chad Santo Tomas, @ChadtheFilipino
Chad is a Film Director, Cinematographer & Colorist, Creative and Cinematographer of @oofstories, Director/Writer @pagbabalik_film.
