Boozed-up brides crawl across San Francisco

Costumed brides of all ages, genders and backgrounds drank away the day while tromping through City streets and bars Saturday afternoon at the 16th Annual Brides of March pub crawl.

Photos by Gabriella Gamboa/SFBay

Keeping with tradition, exuberant participants first met at the Tunnel Top on Bush Street above Stockton in a strict dress code of white dresses, tuxedos and priest costumes.

As tables filled and glasses emptied, brides were directed by march founder Michele Michele to hit the streets. Many found their way posing in storefronts and turning heads en route to Union Square.

Among the festivities in the pub crawl was first-time participant Erin Legacki’s bachelorette party:

“This event is fantastic, absolutely stunning. I get to take my friends into The City to stomp around all while wearing bridal dresses.”

The Brides of March was conceived during a thrift store visit in 1999, said Michele Michele:

“I saw a huge rack of used bridal dresses just sitting there. They were like unlived dreams of our American culture, and I knew we could do something with these.”

Sixteen years later, the pub crawl continues to attract hundreds of brides and is now celebrated in five other cities.