Joel Kim Booster's Wedding at
The Exploratorium 

A San Francisco Celebration of Curiosity, Creativity, and Love

Curating a World That Reflects Joel & John Michael 

They initially imagined something outside San Francisco, somewhere with a woodsy, immersive quality. That detail stayed with me throughout our planning conversations. We needed a venue that invited play, interaction, and transformation. A place where curiosity and creativity could take center stage.

We recommended The Exploratorium. A space for wonder and experimentation, a scientific funhouse with the heart of an art installation. It matched their love of discovery, games, science, and surreal environments. It was a place where guests could explore, touch, feel, and move. When John Michael shared that he already loved the museum, we knew we were headed in the right direction.

Act One: The Forest at Sunset 

The Exploratorium wedding ceremony took place in the West Gallery, a smaller, more structured space that we transformed into something warm and intimate. We projected a forest onto the wall behind the altar, creating the ceremony backdrop. The lighting design was moody and golden, inspired by the last rays of sun slipping through the trees. Light, texture, florals, and color worked together to evoke the feeling of being surrounded by trees at dusk. The design was grounding, sacred, and emotionally layered.

Jake of Cobra Lily brought the couple's vision to life with floral design that felt alive and organic. The ceremony florals included branches covered in lichen, orchids that were still growing, and live plants layered with Spanish moss that dripped from the installations. Rich textures came through in maroon chrysanthemums, magnolia, bold tango amaryllis, and fern. Jake described the arc of the design as walking through the forest into the night: "As they become a couple and step into the next chapter of their lives, things begin to glow."

Joel's best friend since childhood, now an ordained Methodist minister, Reverend Sarah Casey, officiated the ceremony. Both grooms wrote their own vows. The ceremony featured a ring-warming, in which the wedding party and families passed the rings among themselves, imbuing them with positive energy before the exchange.

The processional included Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need to Get By" for the wedding party, Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Change This Love" for the grooms, and Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life" as the recessional. 

"Extremely emotional," Joel shared about how they felt during the ceremony. "We were both crying pretty much beginning with the processional. I felt an incredible sense of synchronicity during vows, as we both had passages that touched rather specifically on partnership, growth, and future fatherhood. Mostly I felt an intense sense of love and affirmation that this love was something special, something that would last a lifetime."

The ceremony opened up to a cocktail hour that added playfulness and levity. Guests explored interactive exhibits including a tornado simulator and the Tactile Dome, a multidimensional art exhibit where guests walked, crawled, climbed, and slid their way through complete darkness. This was the energy Joel and John Michael wanted: people engaging, exploring, and connecting with each other and with the space.

Act Two: Into the Cosmos

For dinner and dancing, we moved to the Central Gallery and shifted the atmosphere completely. The lighting became expressive: ambers, pinks, blues, and purples, the colors of the cosmos. This part of the evening was meant to feel immersive, expansive, energizing, and celebratory. We were inspired by the couple's love of nightlife and by the surreal energy of Burning Man after dark, where everything glows and comes alive.

We knew the Exploratorium's GLOW exhibit would be in residence during the wedding, and we used its presence as part of the design. We leaned into the reflective glow of Jacqueline Hen's Sunset installation, a large acrylic mirror sun, and placed the head table right in front of it. Above the dance floor, Squidsoup's Wave installation (cascading lights) set the tone for the party to come. Guests could also explore Marten & Visser's Reflecting Holons (shimmering teardrop sculptures of light and motion) and Angela Yuen's The Dreamer IV (three-dimensional sculptures casting colored shadows resembling the Hong Kong skyline).

For the reception, Cobra Lily introduced reflective and textural elements that came alive under the lights. Floral designs included tinted denim tulips with white veining, shiny black calla lilies, chrome anthurium, hellebores, and cascading moss, fern, and a variety of textured plants. "It was meant to feel like a lived-in experience that could also be reflective of a marriage," Jake explained. "A bind that has roots and is growing together."

The food was a mix of classic American and Korean fusion, a nod to Joel's heritage and their shared love of great food.

Toasts were given by wedding party members Mitra Jouhari, Ahmed Zaeem, Phil Tassen, and Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang as a pair. Mitra wore a suit that once belonged to legend, Patti LuPone. The first dance was a cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" by Darlyn. John Michael and his mother danced to Florence and the Machine's cover of "Stand by Me" before inviting guests to join them on the floor.

The room was full of interactive art pieces for guests to explore throughout the night, plus an open bar sponsored by Don Julio Tequila. Joel and John Michael are famously the last ones at the party, and this night was no exception.

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