“He had seen me before we went on our first date, but I had never seen him,” remembers San Francisco native JJ Fritz of the air of mystery surrounding her initial encounter with her future husband, Patrick Moeller.

Patrick, who works in institutional sales for an investment company, first noticed JJ, now a Pilates instructor, while they were both living in Washington, D.C., in 2011. After the then-Georgetown undergrad walked by him in the apartment building where she lived, Patrick acted on impulse—asking her doorman for her phone number. “She seemed like a free spirit and I wanted to know who this girl was,” he says. “I might have given him a couple six-packs in return.”

Four-and-a-half years later, Patrick found the perfect moment to seal the courtship while the couple, who live in Boston, was visiting JJ’s family home in Lake Tahoe. During sunset margaritas on the edge of the dock, he presented her with a glimmering square cushion-cut sparkler as both of their families looked on in anticipation from the nearest window. “I made the decision [that she was the one] a long time ago,” reveals Patrick.

As the last of five sisters to tie the knot—none of whom married in their hometown—JJ decided to return to the Bay Area for their wedding, knowing what it would mean to her mother. “We wanted it to be the most epic San Francisco tour,” says the bride, who set the date during Fleet Week in October to enhance the grandeur.

The five-day whirlwind—seamlessly orchestrated in part by Los Angeles-based event authority Oren Cove—was equal parts country and city, commencing with a rehearsal dinner at JJ’s mom’s house in Pacific Heights, a wine-tasting lunch at her father’s winery, Lynmar Estate, in Sonoma, and a Friday night welcome party on the Embarcadero below the Bay Bridge. On Saturday, the pair exchanged vows at nearby St. Vincent de Paul church, where a gospel choir flooded the aisle for their recessional, singing “Oh Happy Day,” and carrying the serenade into the streets before the newlyweds rode across the Golden Gate Bridge in a vintage convertible Mercedes to their reception venue, Sausalito’s historic Cavallo Point.

As the 215 revelers shuffled into a tented dinner, they were greeted with a breathtaking baby’s breath canopy. The evening then unfolded into a reception in an olive tree-lined in the ballroom. Throughout the festivities, JJ and Patrick made sure to incorporate their beloved Chihuahua, Artie, whose likeness (seated in a plane, wearing aviator goggles) made an appearance on save the dates, invitations and even a special groom’s cake. The two danced into the night with the golden lights of the bridge glowing behind them before jetting off to the Hawaiian isles of Lanai and Maui for their tropical honeymoon.

PLANNER Oren Cove FLORIST Waterlily Pond ENTERTAINMENT Bobby Yang and his Unrivaled Players VIDEOGRAPHER Elysium Productions GOWN Monique Lhuillier SUIT Ralph Lauren Purple Label RING Anna Ide of A & O Jewelry. CAKE Katrina Rozelle Pastries & Desserts, Debbie Does Cakes (Groom’s) HAIR AND MAKEUP Melissa Hoffmann, Tavi de la Rosa.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Sasha Gulish.
WRITTEN BY Lindsay Kindelon.