Is there really some pent-up demand for people who want to get married at Outside Lands? They must think so, as the festival has added an on-site wedding venue, performing real weddings for $349 (plus fees).

The annual music festival Outside Lands has added some neat new features in recent years: the Grass Lands cannabis area was launched in 2019, the house music dance area SoMa stage started in 2021, and last year’s new LGBTQ+ Dolores’ stage was an enormous hit.

So the festival often adds new attractions for the onesie-clad revelers. But this year’s new addition is something of a head-scratcher (though it may prove very popular?), as Outside Lands announced Tuesday that they’re adding an on-site wedding venue called City Hall.

“A new tradition at Outside Lands? Don’t mind if ‘I do’!” the festival declared in an online announcement. “We are thrilled to announce City Hall, nestled in the Eucalyptus shade at the heart of McLaren Pass. Festival attendees can host their wedding or recommitment ceremony, throughout the weekend.”

This is not for gag weddings — these are very real weddings, and you are required to have a marriage license (you can apply for one at SF.gov) or a marriage certificate for a renewing of vows. And considering that the cost is “$349 + fees (sorry, no refunds if someone gets cold feet),” that’s going to weed out any jokers who are just doing it for kicks.

And yes, this $349 is on top of the cost of your Outside Lands admission ticket.

But for that $349, couples get a licensed officiant, a photographer, a 45-minute time slot, a wedding lounge in which to get ready, a locker for the day, and two drink tickets. There will also be dedicated seating for your guests, and you apparently get a dedicated concierge to boot.

You will need your own wedding rings, and it does not sound like cake will be provided.

This is meant as a 20th anniversary commemoration of the “Winter of Love,” when then-SF mayor Gavin Newsom first allowed same-sex weddings at City Hall. Outside Lands adds that “A donation of proceeds from City Hall ceremonies at the festival will be donated to Lambda Legal, a legal and education fund dedicated to LGBTQ+ civil rights.”

As a reminder, this year’s Outside Lands is August 9-11, with headliners Tyler, the Creator, The Killers, Grace Jones, Postal Service, and Sturgill Simpson. The full lineup is here.

Related: Outside Lands 2024 Lineup Includes Tyler the Creator, Grace Jones, Postal Service, and Post Malone [SFist]

Image: Alive Coverage via Grandstand Media

Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch has wasted no time in his hunt for wife number five, and he's found her in onetime Bay Area resident Ann-Lesley Smith, who has twice been married herself to multi-millionaire husbands.

Murdoch gave the scoop to his own New York Post's longtime gossip maven Cindy Adams — who, like Murdoch, is 92 years old. As Adams reported on Page Six, Murdoch met Smith at an event last September at his Moraga Bel Air vineyard and winery, and the two bonded over their interest in winemaking.

"She and her husband also owned a vineyard and had been in the wine business," Murdoch reportedly told Adams. "Last year when there was 200 people at my vineyard, I met her and we talked a bit. Two weeks later I called her."

So, he's had her teed up, then, since before his divorce from Jerry Hall, which was finalized in October. And, at age 92, perhaps a six-month courtship should be seen as lengthy.

Murdoch added, "I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy." And, hilariously, he told Adams, "We're both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together."

As The Cut points out, comments like that sure make him sound like the character he's said to have inspired, Succession's Logan Roy, who is similarly deluded about his longevity/immortality.

Smith, 66, was previously married to country music and gospel singer turned media mogul Chester Smith, who died in 2008. Chester Smith told the Chronicle in 2002 how he was inspired to get back to his roots in music after suffering what sounds like an anxiety attack following the sale of his radio and TV stations to Univision in 1996, in an $85 million deal. After that, it sounds like the Smiths retired to Modesto where they ran some sort of vineyard.

In any event, Smith clearly has her own money, so maybe won't mind signging a prenup this time. She previously was left destitute when her first marriage to a millionaire, John B. Huntington — of the San Francisco Huntingtons — ended in divorce in the late 1980s, as she told the Christian Broadcasting Network. (There's some evidence of an extended court fight here, in court documents from 1992.) She later seems to have found God and become a volunteer prison chaplain in Marin County, before marrying rich again.

As Smith tells Adams, "I’m a widow 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman. Worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations and helped promote Univision. So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs."

Smith adds, "In perspective, it’s not my first rodeo. Getting near 70 means being in the last half. I waited for the right time. Friends are happy for me."

At least she acknowledges she's "in the last half" of her life, whereas Rupert may imagine he's just starting his.

Top image: Rupert Murdoch attends 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage)

Rich people. They're not like us. Take, for example, Anne Wojcicki, impending ex-wife of (dreamy) Google cofounder Sergey Brin. None too thrilled about seeing her husband leave her for a 26-year-old Google Glass marketing manager, the newest First Wives Club nominee had a helluva party the other night to celebrate her newfound singlehood.

Leah Garchik has the details:

But on Alcatraz, Anne Wojcicki, estranged wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, threw a party to celebrate "freedom," it said on the invitation. Perhaps this had to do with the August announcement that after six years of marriage the couple were living apart. It was said at the time that he was having an affair with Google Glass marketing manager Amanda Rosenberg. ("Sleeping her way to the top" was how one British newspaper described the Other Woman, but in light of accounts of her repeatedly texting him via Google Glass, this might be amended to "seeing her way to the top.")

Exclusive access to Alcatraz Island costs around $20,000. Around 100 people, Garchik goes on to report, attended the fete.

Brin and Wojcicki, both 40 with two kids, have been living apart for much of 2013. A spokesman for the couple told AllThingsD back in August, “[T]hey have been living apart for several months. They remain good friends and partners."

Looking to get hitched tomorrow on 11/12/13? Well, you won't be able to do it at San Francisco City Hall. If you want to get married on Tuesday's special consecutive-number date, you will have to try elsewhere.

You can Santa Cruz. That would be lovely. "Already 10 of the 13 openings have been filled," reports SF Appeal. Give them a call tomorrow at 831-454-2800. You can also try Alameda County. An Oakland marriage sure would be hip, wouldn't it? Indeed. Give them a call tomorrow at 1-888-280-7708.

By the way, today is Veteran's Day, so city offices are closed.

The next date with consecutive numbers will be next December (12-13-14). Which isn't as ideal as today because 1) that date falls on a Saturday, which is when county offices are typically closed, and b) the 13th is just too spooky.

Tech bros, Hollywood flacks, Dodgers fans, out of towners buying up all of our rentals for exorbitant amounts of money: the Kimye Engagement party at AT&T Park last night was a confluence of things San Franciscans love to complain about.

The stadium rental alone cost $200,000 and that's before shelling out twenty grand to use the scoreboard to light up the "PLEEEASE MARRY MEEE!!!" message, which actually sounds more terrifying than anything.

As for the musical entertainment: we don't have any estimates about how much it costs to fly out a 50-piece orchestra from Chicago, but we did learn that they performed the Keri Hilson (ft. Kanye) track "Knock You Down" as well as that Lana Del Rey song from The Great Gatsby soundtrack.

Since the Tech is the Bay Area's Hollywood, it makes sense that some of Silicon Valley's least likable personalities were invited to take part in the festivities. As Valleywag points out, most of the Valley's nerd A-List were in attendance at what has been dubbed Kimye's "love IPO." There's venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar who has his hands in Uber and Tumblr, and has been using his connections to pivot from a tech investor to celebrity-adjacent human/Instagram prop. Noted VC Ben Horowitz was spotted alongside RapGenius.com's Mahbod "I'mma rape you in your mouth" Moghadam to make the hip hop-tech crossover complete.

Alexis Traina, who is actually cool and boasts Dede Wilsey for a mother-in-law, was also in attendance. (Although no word yet on what her old guard in-laws and their cohorts thought about the whole thing.)

And then there are the actual Hollywood types: poorly coiffed Jonathan Cheban, a PR man and failed reality star who also runs a company that makes mirrors for your iPhone, managed to get someone to take this on-field photo of him with the chilly-looking bride-to-be:

As if that weren't enough, noted douchebag and criminal Joe Francis made an appearance, just to really highlight how gross the intersection of fame and fortune can be when it gets instagrammed ad nauseam.

Yeezus is still quite an album though, we'll give him that.

Occasional SFist photographer David Lytle and his man got hitched this week. The happy couple and their son celebrated by horsing around outside San Francisco City Hall. Congratulations to all!

Well, this should be interesting. The Mayor's daughter is getting married in the City Hall rotunda next Saturday right in the middle of the skateboard/BMX showcase known as the Dew Tour, which will be happening right outside in middle of Civic Center. It is indeed possible they'll be hearing some thumping electronic music in the Rotunda over "Here comes the bride."

Brianna Lee, who lives in New York, is marrying her fiance Mark Chen, and Matier & Ross report that it won't be much of a political "who's who" sort of wedding, with very few city officials invited. There will be 270 guests, however, and the whole gang will be doing a ceremony around noon and then relocating to the Olympic Club for a reception.

Meanwhile, thousands of BMX, skate, and FMX fans will be gathering in the plaza around various courses and replicas of iconic S.F. skate spots, like Hubba Hideout and China Banks (Portsmouth Square, Chinatown). The Dew Tour's now annual City Championships in S.F. follow the Beach Championships in Ocean City, Maryland in June, and the Mountain Championships in Breckinridge, Colorado in December.

They actually closed off part of Harrison Street a few weeks ago to show off some Skatebaord Streetstyle with some famous skaters. See below.

[Matier & Ross/Chron]
[Allisports]

The California State Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that same-sex marriages can continue despite an emergency request from Prop 8 supporters to stop them.

"Backers of Proposition 8 had turned to the state's high court last week after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered all 58 county clerks in California to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples," reports The Chronicle. "Brown acted two days after the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 ruling that the initiative's private sponsors lacked legal standing to defend it in federal court."

Equality California Executive Director John O'Connor had this to say:

"Yet again, detractors have failed in their attempt to halt marriage for loving same-sex couples in California. Committed gay and lesbian couples will continue to affirm their love for one another through marriage should they choose to. Marriage for same-sex couples is here to stay in California!"

California's 58 counties started issuing marriage licenses for gay couples on June 28, two days after the SCOTUS ruling. So, you know, get those wedding cakes ordered.

[Sacto Bee]
[Chron]

Before today's Giants-Dodgers game, this cool couple stood before the eyes of God (and Willie Mays) to wed outside AT&T Park today. The bride wore a lovely gown and carried a gorgeous yet appropriately orange-tinted bouquet, while the groom sported a harlequin Giants-colored jacket. (If ONLY he had Matt Cain's pants to pair with it!)

Shortly after exchanging "I do"s, someone form the crowd shouted "Beat LA," much the the delight of everyone -- wedding party included. Almost makes you forget about the Giants landing in 4th place. Almost. Anyway, here are some images from today's nuptials under he Willie Mays statue.

Best of luck to the cool couple!

We don't know if this qualifies as quirkily romantic, or if it's just the most awkward, political-wonky marriage proposal of the year, but a guy proposed to school board member and City Hall education advisor Hydra Mendoza in the middle of the public comment section of last night's school board meeting, and she said yes.

That guy was Eric McDonnell, the chief operating officer of the local United Way chapter, and we suppose that the lives these two lead often revolve around local politics, fundraisers, and public meetings. And we suppose it's sweet, in a way, that McDonnell chose to propose in such a public fashion, during the time in the meeting when disgruntled parents and variously mentally challenged gadflies of the public-meeting sphere get up to harangue the school board. But it's also deeply embarrassing in ways we can't totally articulate. Also, we hate public meetings.

McDonnell apparently far exceeded his two-minute limit during the "Requests to Speak Regarding General Matters" section of the agenda by singing a couple of songs to Mendoza, including "You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “Always and Forever.” And as City Insider reports:

Dozens of the couple’s friends and family crowded into the board meeting room to hear the proposal and applaud the response. The romantic moment followed a tense discussion about a local-hire policy, which passed unanimously.

Hmm.

May they live wonkily ever after.

[City Insider/SFGate]
[ABC 7]

What's more important than the tranquility and environmental delicacy of Big Sur? Sean Parker, it seems. The early-aughts throwback, if you recall, held his wedding in Bug Sur (a place that, for many, is as sacred as Tibet) last week, and trashed the place. But not before paying $2.5 million in fines to state regulators. In a letter to the Atlantic, Parker called his wedding "subtle," "tasteful," and "carefully orchestrated."

This is what passes for subtle.

Outside of techie circles, Sean Parker is most famous for being portrayed by Justin Timberlake, the male Anne Hathaway, in The Social Network.

UPDATE: Parker is filled with "a great deal of sadness and dismay" at those accusing him of harming nature. "First and foremost is that nobody goes out of their way to get married in a redwood forest unless they really love redwood forests," he writes to the Atlantic. Read his entire tl;dr here.

[Valleywag]

Republican politicians generally avoid San Francisco like the den of liberal iniquity it is, but the city played host to an unusual collection of Republican luminaries this weekend. The occasion? The nuptials of John McCain's son Jack, who married Vacaville native Renee Swift at a ceremony at Grace Cathedral on Saturday.

Jack is a Navy lieutenant and helicopter pilot and Renee is a captain in the US Air Force Reserve. The good-looking pair met while stationed in Guam, where the groom will be redeployed after the couple honeymoon in Africa.

The couple's rehearsal dinner took place Friday night at the Tonga Room, where failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney stole the show with this gaudy Hawaiian shirt and kukui nut necklace, and, by the looks of things, had way more fun than on the entire Presidential campaign trail.

Photo via @MeghanMcCain on Twitter.

The reception was held later on Saturday at the California Academy of Sciences, where intrepid tweeter and sister-of-the-groom drank white wine and frolicked in front of the T-Rex guarding the museum entrance.

Photo via Meghan McCain on Twitter.

All in all, it looked like a well-planned and lovely weekend in the city, and we can't help but wish the happy military couple the best of luck.

Photo via the bride on Twitter.

[WashPo]
[US Weekly]

Well, this is a nice surprise, isn't it? A Bay to Breakers runner proposed to his girlfriend during Sunday's race. According to photographer Erik Wilson, who snapped the above pic, this was a real marriage proposal.

Did she say yes? Wilson reports, "It was a marriage proposal. She said yes and off they ran, hopefully to live happily ever after. Certainly not something I would do, but whatever works, I guess."

Indeed. Hey, cute couple, we have a few questions to ask you! If the mood should strike, contact brock@sfist.com. We have only endearing and heart-warming questions to ask. And congratulations and best wishes to the both of you!