Part 2: Chinese Tea Ceremony & Wedding Ceremony

THE VENUE

Rewinding back to when we began wedding planning - looking for a wedding venue in the middle of November wasn’t exactly the easiest task - especially with a 2018 wedding year! (We got engaged mid September) We were looking for a venue to accommodate the number of guests (we were aiming for 150 - 220) and was accessible. After about 4 - 5 venue tours, we were happy to secure JW Marriott at the new Parq Vancouver complex. It had just opened its doors in October and was in the early stages of wedding bookings!

Parq Vancouver is a multi-venue complex which consisted of The Douglas Hotel & JW Marriott , the two hotels were connected by a casino. JW Marriott had ballrooms on the 4th floor and suited all of our needs - we wanted a room for a Chinese Tea Ceremony, potential outdoor space for the Ceremony, accessible bathrooms & a room big enough to fit our guests with a band & dance floor.

Kira connected with the sales team, Koreena & Jorin. After a few weeks of back and forth, we signed an agreement & were eager to see what we could do with the space! Ana, our coordinator, was great to work with & she definitely had a lot of great surprises for us! See more of JW Marriott through their Instagram here (can you see a snap of our wedding on their feed?)

THE TEA CEREMONY

My Grandmother was a big influence in my life and I know that she would’ve loved to attend our special day. So in honour of her and my Chinese culture, we decided to have a Chinese Tea Ceremony.

The Tea Ceremony was shortly after our First Look & before our Wedding Ceremony. Typically, the Bridal Party were to pay the Bridesmaids with money-filled red pockets & play door games (Groom & his buddies have to earn their way to SEE the Bride!). After they’ve proven to the Bridesmaids - the Bride walks out with her parents & the tea ceremony begins. Typically, the Bride’s side is served with the Tea ceremony first, then they get transported to the Groom’s house for a Tea Ceremony with the Groom’s side.

M’s side were not familiar with these traditions, so we decided to marry our families together and do a joint Bride-side and Groom-side tea ceremony.

THE WEDDING CEREMONY

THE WEDDING STATIONARY:

I started using my previous Toronto roomate, Kat Bering Design Studio to design our Save the Dates. I loveee her minimalist yet effective designs! Check out her Instagram for some major design inspo! Also, she also helped me design this website!!

Closer to the date, we used a local Vancouver designer, Lele of LeLe Chan designs to complete our suite of wedding stationery & written decor.  She was extremely professional (& not to mention, has an incredibly fast response rate). We couldn’t be happier with her work! IG: LeleChan

About 3 weeks leading up to our wedding, I decided to make paper fans & programs for our guests - the fans were in case we held the ceremony on the Pavilion (if it got too hot!), & the programs were to indicate who was on the Bride & Groom’s side! These fans I got designed on Etsy & assembled them at home! Super easy!

THE WEDDING ARCH & CEREMONY SET UP:

When it came to the look & feel of our wedding, Kira looked over my Pinterest boards & wish list - she finally concluded that Evan & his team at Koncept Events would be our best fit to fulfill our magical day! Not only did him & his team execute - he also understood me in a creative level! It was so fun working with him & his upbeat, bubbly personality! We had his floral company, Flowerz Inc work on our flower arrangements, bouquets & so much more. For more info: https://koncepteventdesign.com/

IG: Koncept.Events | Flowerzinc

I was excited to express my creativity and wanted our ceremony to look different. I got Evan to create beautiful, draped pillars for our bridal party to sit & stand! It also helped Ollie stay still during the ceremony! (With a chew treat of course)