Mark & Shante’s Wedding at UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens

We loved this wedding so much! Mark and Shante had a wedding day that was such a fun and had lots of unique elements. Their wedding at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens had a lot of heart and captured the essence of who they are as a couple.

They picked out fun ways to incorporate their love of science, puzzles, and games into their wedding. Since they met at, they have played games together and their favorite is one called ‘Hanabi.’ It is a card game where players work together to win. They love that game so much, they had it as their ring box and used the same colors, blue and gold in their wedding.

During their ceremony under the redwoods, they both donned lab coats an eye protection and poured two chemicals together to create a new one. What a twist on the sand jar idea and one that was totally perfect for them!

The fun didn’t stop there. For the cocktail hour, they created puzzles for their guests to solve. Even their guestbook was different Jenga pieces that their guests could write on. Their table centerpieces were also based on card games and each table had a different set of three cards on the table surrounded by tiny origami stars.

We also loved the few wedding traditions that they made their own. Mark threw the bouquet instead of Shante and Shante work adorable blue converse sneakers so she could break the glass during the ceremony.

While they had plenty of their traditions they made all their own, they also had Jewish traditions that they honored as well. One of the things I love most about Jewish traditions is how they include a lot of the family, whether it is through witnessing the marriage contract, having special readings during the ceremony and the dancing.

Their day was truly one of a kind and we loved being a part of it!

Scroll down to see their wedding day and their vendors!