“Now, instead of saying, ‘Look, we are going to get married there.’ We get to say, ‘Look! That’s where we got married,’” says new bride Malika Andrews of Cavallo Point, the 45 acres of national park land at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. “We are so lucky.”
For Malika and her husband, Dave McMenamin, who are based full-time in Los Angeles, the choice of where to host their wedding was an easy one. “We always knew we wanted to get married in the Bay Area, where Malika is from,” says Dave. “When we arrived at Cavallo Point for the first time, it just felt right.”
Throughout the wedding weekend, the festivities featured plenty of symbolism and personal touches that represented both of their histories. The rehearsal dinner took place at Sociale, where Malika’s grandfather went on his first date with his partner. The Syracuse Spritzes served at the reception nodded to Dave’s alma mater, Syracuse University. And, given that they both have dedicated their lives to sports (she’s the host of ESPN’s NBA Today and NBA Countdown, while he is an NBA reporter for ESPN), there were plenty of athletic allusions sprinkled throughout weddings. Notably, a floriated—but fully functional!—basketball hoop at the reception. It was also a wink to their meet-cute in 2017 when Malika and Dave were both assigned to cover a Knicks vs. Cavaliers game at Madison Square Garden. Who won? Malika and Dave, of course.
On August 24, the wedding took place at Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, California—a luxury national park resort with prime views of the bridge. “We were engaged for 21 months, so we had plenty of time to plan!” says Dave, who explains that the couple knew they wanted to squeeze in two NBA offseasons to give them enough time to plan. “Leading up to the wedding, both Dave and I were asked all the time if we were stressed out with the big day rapidly approaching. And honestly, we never were,” Malika adds.
After the Friday night rehearsal dinner (to which Malika wore a strapless yellow midi columnar dress with colorful floral embroidery by Amsale, given the dress code was sunset colors cocktail attire), Malika’s next “look” the morning of the wedding checked off the “something borrowed” tradition. She wore the very same dressing gown her mother wore on her wedding day in 1992 to get ready. Her bouquet of powdery-colored roses was wrapped in her late grandmother’s handkerchief.
