A Grateful Dead wedding rocks the knot
Paula’s dad was on guitar and vocals, her brother on keyboard, an old friend on guitar and her mom on drums.
Live music was Steve and Paula’s great love before they met (both are avid fans of the Grateful Dead) so Steve felt right at home with the family band.
Steve, 42, is from Sunnyvale but has lived in San Rafael since 2005 and is a project manager for Davey Resource Group.
The pair first began noticing each other at local concerts in 2010, but nothing clicked until they were both invited to a mutual friend’s 40th birthday at the Russian River in June of 2011.
[...] neither wanted to wait through the weekend, so they had a lobster dinner on Friday night, saw Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at Stern Grove on Sunday, then attended the ball game together on Monday.
“When I would go to hear music, it was all about dancing, I didn’t care about meeting people,” said Paula.
Given its location on the yacht harbor, the groom and his groomsmen arrived by boat.
The ceremony included Grateful Dead tunes played by a harpist.
Mutual friend Scott Jaffke officiated and Steve and Paula spoke lines from Bob Dylan’s “Wedding Song” for their vows.
Tables at the reception were named after venues where the Grateful Dead had played, like Barton Hall, Soldier Field and Shoreline Amphitheater.
Ryan Kerrigan, a friend and artist, designed a unique wedding favor: a print mimicking the Fillmore’s iconic concert posters, with bride and groom turtles dancing in front of Terrapin Crossroads.
[...] one of the most important facets of the wedding was the music, so the couple asked musician friend Jordan Feinstein to put together a rockin’ band.
Best man Kip Andersen called the couple “love activists,” and his toast was filled with Grateful Dead references.
While one might assume the couple attended the 50th anniversary Grateful Dead “Fare Thee Well” shows in Santa Clara or Chicago for their honeymoon, they didn’t.
Miette Bakery cake with dessert buffet by Terrapin Crossroads