This weekend I had the honor of being a part of my first Buddhist wedding ceremony and it was quite an experience and truly a pleasure.  Over the last several months I have become very close to the bride and groom and had been anxiously awaiting their beautiful multicultural wedding.  Finally the day had come, and in front of 130 of their closest friends and family, the pair exchanges vows in both a Buddhist ceremony and a Christian ceremony in the same day. 

12-1 Photography was on hand to capture stunning photos and video of the gorgeous colors, details, and traditions that make up the Buddhist ceremony.  Their professional photographs were so stunning I will have to patiently wait to post them in the blog in order to really do the ceremony justice. 

Meanwhile, I snapped some pictures of the Christian ceremony and reception to share with you. The ceremony and reception took place at the Davis Islands Garden Club in Tampa.  The couple decided to incorporate the bride’s heritage into their décor and wedding style, choosing black, red and silver colors and blending Asian accents with traditional elements.  The ceremony aisle was lined with black garden hooks suspending red paper lanterns with black and silver ribbons rippling in the breeze, and the gazebo was framed with delicate cherry blossom branches.  Large paper lanterns floated in the branches overhead.  The two ring bearers, nephews of the bride, wore traditional Chinese suits and carried the rings on ivory embroidered pillows.  The bridesmaids carried red paper parasols instead of bouquets, and the bride carried a scallop-edge white parasol painted with cherry blossoms. 

Following the ceremony, guests entered the cocktail lounge space in the open air veranda, draped with black and white fabric to provide an intimate tented feel.  The ceiling was dotted with upside-down parasols and glowing paper lanterns, and the wrap around benches featured square tables with upholstered bench and pod seating (big thank you to Grand Events for taking this vision and making it come to life!).  Just beyond the veranda, guests sipped Sing Ha (a Chinese beer) from the bar set under a tree with branches suspending a paper dragon.  Wait staff passed hors d’oeuvres that represented both the bride and groom’s cultures, like pork potstickers served in bamboo steamer trays, and bratwurst and sauerkraut bites served in Asian spoons (kudos to Catering by the Family). 

The escort card display featured two silver Manzanita trees with red and black paper cranes nestled in the branches.  Below, red and black paper cranes supported printed cards were lined up in rows. 

The guest tables were named after Chinese birth year animals such as Dragon, Tiger, and Rooster.  Each table card featured the animal, the birth years for that animal, and a description of that animal’s personality.  Some guest tables featured pewter textured linens with submerged red orchid centerpieces, candlelight, and scattered black river rocks.  Other guest tables featured silver crinkle linens with black Manzanita trees and orchid blossoms, surrounded by more candlelight and black river rocks (centerpieces from the talented Arlene Floral Designer team).  For the wedding party we created a feasting table featuring crimson linens topped with sheer overlays with black and white embroidered swirl patterns (Connie Duglin, your linens are so fun and gorgeous when mixed and matched!)  We lined the center of the head table with red candle tubes along with low bowls filled with black river rocks, water, and floating candles and orchid blossoms.  Overhead we hung a dramatic chandelier made of red and black paper lanterns.  AMAZING!  Each place setting featured a folded black napkin with a guest favor of a set of chopsticks tucked inside.  And the entire room was washed with warm red LED uplighting (courtesy of Ron Michel at Universal Entertainment) 

One of the most fun and unique elements of this wedding was the introduction of the wedding party, wherein the group split into guys vs. girls teams and were introduced “Family Feud” style.  Once in the reception space, the groups competed for first dibs at the buffet line by answering questions about the bride and groom.  After each answer, the emcee would say “Survey says…” followed by an appropriate buzz or ding to indicate a right or wrong answer.  The bride and her bridesmaids’ team won, and they were first to enjoy the Asian buffet of crab wontons, fried rice, lo main, sweet and sour chicken, and more!  The food was such a hit (props to Yummy House for the amazing and inexpensive dishes!) 

And we can’t forget about the beautiful custom cake (provided by Publix Greenwise – yes, a grocery store bakery that can create couture cakes!)  The three-tier confection featured fondant icing and black ribbon trim, with a traditional Thai silk pattern piped on the bottom tier, the groom’s family crest printed on edible paper and emblazoned on the quilted second tier, and sugar cherry blossom branches growing up the sides of the top tier.  Can you believe it tasted as good as it looked?  It’s true! 

Guests retuned outside to the veranda to enjoy to cool night air while dancing to awesome music reflecting the couple’s love of the 70s, 80s, and 90s (with a few oldies and some pop and hip hop thrown in there).  On occasion a family friend provided live renditions of traditional Laotian songs, to which many of the guests participated in choreographed dances – so much fun to watch, and you couldn’t take your eyes off the bride and groom.  No one could resist getting out on the dance floor.  (Excellent job again, Ron Michel).  As the night came to a close, the bride and groom ran through a path lit with sparklers and were cheered on by their family and friends.  A spectacular ending to a spectacular event!   

Congratulations again to this beautiful couple!  Looking forward to spending more time with you soon! XOXO