Emma: Proof that even brides can get with our "fingers not forks" motto
In May, a tale of love and tacos unfolded. In other words, our first full-on, 180 person wedding gig.
Emma Boyes (now, Emma Campion)—the associate creative director of food and drink at Weldon Owen Publishing in San Francisco (think Williams Sonoma cookbooks and more) hired us for her wedding to Pat Campion, a property developer. I was particularly nervous about this because I knew that Emma was connected in the food industry and the wedding would be populated with food stylists, photographers and more. I mentioned this perhaps more times than Kelly, who organized the whole thing, would have liked.
But all went off without a hitch. Except for the hitch itself, if you know what I mean. I interviewed Emma briefly to see how it went. She also sent us some of the beautiful photos shot by Melanie Duerkopp.
A taco wedding? Great idea, but not traditional.
Being in the food business, I have learnt the difference between fancy food and good food. We wanted it to be casual, fun, the food simple but delicious, with plenty of chilled wine and buckets of icy, cold Tecates. All this without breaking the bank or getting sucked into the “wedding industry.” Honestly, after meeting with a couple of wedding caterers, we were so disillusioned about the whole affair, their food was so fussy—it just wasn’t for us.
And why Tacolicious (barring the obvious, awesome reasons)?
We enjoy the street food in San Francisco—everything the Ferry Building on Thursdays has to offer; tacos on Harrison; Naomi’s pizza oven outside of Homestead. But finding the right street vendor proved hard, considering we were feeding 180 and wanting some sort of passed food as well as the main meal.
How did the reception go?
We kicked off the afternoon with Prosecco, beer and passed appetizers. The Tacolicious tuna tostadas have been raved about ever since, as well as the delicious gazpacho shooters you guys made. The sit-down was as family style as you can get for 180 people: long tables, salsa chips, limes and guacamole along all tables. I had no problem tucking into at least four tacos, white dress and all. There was no way I was going to miss out. Carnitas is my favorite, but they are all pretty damn good.
Champagne is overrated.
Inspirational taco memories?
My favorite taco memory is of a girl surf trip I took to Saladita. We would get up and surf from dawn, then come back and crack a beer and cook up some breakfast tacos, then sleep in the hammocks until we would do it all over again.
Tips for nervous brides?
Don’t let the wedding industry suck you in. Go with your own instincts of what works for you and your partner and remember that your friends and family are there to celebrate with you. So if you want tacos, paper plates and biodegradable forks, go for it and feel good about it.
Emma + Pat = Tacos