You might be wondering why we chose San Francisco as the location of our wedding. Although most of our family and friends are in the Midwest, California is our current home. It seems most natural to start our marriage in the same city we picked for our “chosen” home. This city is weird and fun and beautiful and challenging and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Neighborhood Guide

If you’re considering using Airbnb for lodging for the weekend, you’ll need to decide what part of San Francisco you’d like to visit. Here are some of the neighborhoods we recommend and why we think they’re great!

Mission: Best weather in all of San Francisco! It’s always sunny and 10 degrees warmer than any other neighborhood. Also hipster heaven! If you like things like craft cocktails, artisan cheese or gourmet coffee, this is the neighborhood for you. It’s historically the most Latino neighborhood in SF - and still is home to all THE best taquerias in the city.

Hayes Valley/Cole Valley/Duboce Triangle: All these neighborhoods are in the same general area. Centrally located in the city, it makes a great home base if you want to explore other neighborhoods too! Lots of great shopping and restaurants around here as well.

North Beach: While not as centrally located, North Beach is the “Little Italy” of San Francisco. It has amazing history and jaw dropping views of the Bay. It also has the infamous HUGE San Francisco hills you see in photos, so be warned. Walking around this neighborhood will give you a workout. Russian Hill and Telegraph Hill are the adjacent neighborhoods and are equally gorgeous.

Haight-Ashbury: We live in this ‘hood, so we are biased. It’s a fascinating mix of tie-dye, the last remaining Dead Heads and trendy new boutiques and bars. There is a large population of street kids on Haight Street asking for money, so not for the faint of heart. But we love The Haight, with all it’s quirks. It’s also conveniently located next to Golden Gate Park!

Union Square: Looking for cable cars, sky scrappers and hustle and bustle? Then this is the neighborhood for you. This is also where most of the hotels in San Francisco are located. It’s known for being “touristy”, but hey, if you’re a tourist this may be just what you want!

P.S. You may think to yourself, “I’m traveling all the way to California, I want to stay by the beach!” Which makes total sense. But please note, the beach in San Francisco can be chilly and foggy, especially in the summer. This is NorCal, not LA. So by all means, stay by the beach but bring sweatshirts and jeans. You won’t be doing any sunbathing or swimming here. But the views from Ocean Beach are stunning, fog and all.

P.P.S. San Francisco has one of the largest homeless populations in the country. There are certain neighborhoods where the homeless are more visible than others. These neighborhoods include the Tenderloin, Civic Center and SoMa. While mostly harmless, it can be shocking and upsetting to see this side of our city. Please plan your lodging accordingly.