Tell us a little about yourselves!
Leo and I met on Hinge in the beginning of 2021 while we were both living in NYC during the pandemic. On our first date, we cooked dinner together in Leo’s apartment and ended up hanging out until 1am on a Tuesday. Now, we live in Los Angeles with our 17-year-old orange tabby cat, ZZ. We love to travel together and have been to Greece, Rome, Berlin, London, Japan (where we got engaged!), Hawaii, and all over the US together. We love to eat together and work out together – Leo lifts while I am in my pilates and yoga era. We also love to go on road trips, go swimming (pool, beach, lake, etc), and sing karaoke together.
Leo has his own e-commerce home goods and bedding business called Buffy and I work in human resources at Buck Mason, a clothing brand.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
A lot of factors went into our decision. First, NYC is where Leo and I met, and we had both spent so many years living in the city, having both gone to college in New York. In addition to this, Leo is from New Jersey and I am from Maryland, so the majority of our friends and family are east coast based, if not NYC based.
More specifically, we chose St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University because it’s where I attended college – it’s also just an incredibly beautiful space. Neither Leo or I are very religious, so it was important that we found a space that was able to accommodate our guest list and provide a more agnostic ceremony.
For our ceremony, we chose House of Joy in Chinatown because it is the home of many date nights for Leo and me. The food and service are amazing, and it’s one of the very few Chinese restaurants in Manhattan that was large enough for nearly 200 people. We are both Chinese and so were many of our guests, so it was really nice to be able to service Chinese food at our reception!
How many guests did you have?
188 – a lucky number in Chinese culture!
What was your budget?
$75k – ended up closer to $100k!
Tell us about your outfits.
I love fashion and style. I wanted to have a dress for each aesthetic moment of the day. My ceremony dress, Pearl by Liz Martinez was the last dress I had tried on after 5 bridal appointments. As someone that loves style (and is possibly addicted to social media), I had seen so many beautiful wedding gowns online, but really wanted to find something that I hadn’t seen before. The gown was from Liz Martinez’s 2022 collection. It felt both vintage and contemporary, and the beading and lace was so beautiful. I had also always wanted something with an open back, and the bow on the neck was just the cherry on top. It twinkled while we took photos in Central Park, and people stopped me to ask if it was vintage and tell me how stunning it was. A total main character moment! With my Danielle Frankel veil, the look was so romantic.
I changed into a modern red qi pao (traditional Chinese dress) from Sau Lee for dinner, paired with a strand of pearls my mother gifted me. She also changed into a modern qi pao from Sau Lee during the reception and looked so cute. It was important for me to wear a traditional Chinese wedding outfit that still felt like me – the red and the low back made me feel so sexy, and with my hair up it was a very classic look. We wanted to emulate 90s Hong Kong for our reception, a la Wong Kar Wai, and the qi pao and Leo’s white suit really helped pull the vibe together.
Lastly, my reception dress by Cucculelli Shaheen was actually my dream dress. I had saved it on Instagram in 2022, just waiting for the day I could wear it. The Lily of the Nile beadwork is all hand beaded, with subtle light pink and blue. I can’t wait to find an occasion to wear it again. Unfortunately, my heels from Gianvito Rossi came off after the father-daughter dance and did not return to my feet until the night was over.
Leo and I wore our everyday jewellery for the wedding. I borrowed his chunky gold bracelets for the reception, and Leo’s look was completed by the ultimate accessory – a walking boot, since he tore his ACL in the spring before the wedding.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Food! We love exploring new restaurants together, enjoying home cooked meals, and eating familiar favorites like a good bowl of noodle, dim sum, or delicious BBQ. We didn’t want typical wedding food at our reception, so it was inevitable for us to have the dinner at a Chinese restaurant. House of Joy served 14 courses, including appetizers and dessert (plus our wedding cake!). They had takeout boxes for our guests to bring home leftovers. It was amazing, it really felt like our Big Fat Chinese Wedding.
We also really wanted to balance planning a wedding that felt true to us, while still maintaining the tradition that our families wanted. We had gone through many iterations of the big day while planning – from backyard wedding at Leo’s family home in NJ, to eloping, to finally landing on our NYC wedding. We couldn’t quite figure out how to bring the food we loved to the backyard. When we discussed eloping with our families, they expressed how meaningful it would be to have a day full of friends and family. So we found something that really resonated with all of us by bringing the festivities to New York.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
It was really important for us to incorporate our Chinese and Asian American heritage. Going beyond the food, we had lion dancers that performed for our grand entrance, liquor imported from China, and we worked with several other Asian/Asian American vendors as well. Our florist, Ahna Han, is half Korean (I am half Chinese), and she just completely understood my vision and created a dreamy meadow-scape for our ceremony and reception that incorporated Asian-origin flowers, and my incredible bouquet was all Asian-origin stems. My makeup artist was also half Asian, and she did an incredible job not just with my makeup, but with my diverse group of bridesmaids as well. It felt like we were surrounded by a team that just intrinsically understood our needs and our vision for the day.
Leo and I also opted to forgo a first dance for a first song/duet together. We sang a song in Chinese together called 因为爱情 (Because of Love) and printed the lyrics and translation on the back of our menus.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Don’t forget to sleep the week before! I ended up being so tired the day of and cranky the week before because I kept myself up thinking of all the little details. Along the same lines – don’t be afraid to ask for help and lean on your family and wedding party. You don’t have to try to do everything yourselves, and people are more often willing to help than you might expect!
Also, make sure you are aligned on priorities, must haves, and budget as a couple. It will really help eliminate a lot of conflict if you guys are on the same page about everything you want and how it will be paid for.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Our photographer, Alyssa Vanzo, was a dream to work with. As a bride planning a wedding (with the help of our amazing coordinator, Margaret from Together Events), I am surprisingly Type B and was largely focused on just making sure the wedding even happened! Alyssa was never phased by long response times, vague inspiration, incomplete timelines, or any other obstacle we may have thrown her way, and she partnered beautifully with Margaret and our florist, Ahna Han. On the day of, she showed up during getting ready and knocked out a hundred beautiful shots without me having to bat an eye. She made sure we were able to find time for photos in Central Park before driving 30 minutes up to Columbia for the ceremony. And when we got our full gallery back, I could’ve cried – she completely nailed every aesthetic we presented to her, from light, airy ceremony photos to lively, Hong Kong, vintage, cinematic reception photos. It’s like she tapped into inspiration I had never shown anyone. I feel like the day was such a whirlwind that I can hardly remember where I was, who I spoke to, and what I looked like, so it was beyond amazing to relive the day through Alyssa’s eyes.
I also want to shout out our ceremony string trio, led by cellist Stephen Czarkowski – we gave him our entrance and exit songs the weekend before the wedding (All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera and Escape by Enrique Iglesias) and they nailed it. Stephen is a friend of my mother, who herself plays the cello, violin, and viola, and it was such an honor having him play for our ceremony.
Photographer: Alyssa Vanzo @alyssavanzophoto, assisted by Jacquelyn Potter @jacquelynpotter | Planning: Together Events @together.events @margaretefthim | Flora: Ahna Han @ahna__han | Videographer: Heidi Kwak @duetphotovideo | Ceremony Location: St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, NYC | Reception Location: House of Joy, Chinatown, NYC @houseofjoynyc | Celebrant: Stephanie Toussaint @officiantnyc | Hire: A1 Party & Tent Rental; Eggsotic Events @eggsoticevents | HMUA: Michiko Boorberg @michikoboorberg | Cake: Mina Park @ninetynin.e | DJ: Aria Melody DJ @ariamelodydj | Dancers: Lion Dancers @ny.chinesefreemasons | Ceremony String Trio: led by Celloist Stephen Czarkowski | Dresses: Liz Martinez @lizmartinezbridal , Sau Lee @saulee & Cucculelli Shaheen @cuculellishaheen | Suit: Jos. A. Bank @josabank | Veil: Danielle Frankel @daniellefrankelbride | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Tiffany @tiffanyandco | Shoes: Gianvito Rossi @gianvitorossi | Pearl Necklace: borrowed fropm Audrey's Mother | Other Jewllery: Cartier & Tiffany @cartier @tiffanyandco | Wedding Party Attire: Azazie, Karen Millen & Shona Joy