Wedding | Mia & Alex

The Anti-Bride
4 days ago
3 min read

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We originally met at a New Year’s party through mutual friends, and reconnected a few months later. From there, things moved quite quickly – the pandemic definitely helped move things along and luckily for the better in our case.

Alex surprised me and proposed at the top of a hike in Shek-O, Hong Kong while we were there visiting some of his family.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We wanted something that felt a bit more special, and thought we’d make a little vacation out of it!

How many guests did you have?

Alex’s family is between London and Hong Kong, and most of mine is East Coast based, so we decided to keep it simple and just have the two of us.

What was your budget?

We didn’t have a number in mind, but knew that keeping it the two of us would help keep things reasonable! We put the most towards the photographer and hotel, and are so glad we did!

Tell us about your outfits.

Alex wore a suit and shoes he already had from Bode. The suit is a Navy linen which makes it feel casual, while the tailoring and cut make it feel a bit more sophisticated.

I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted, but kept the 2pm court house wedding appointment in mind. I went with a friend to the Happy Isles showroom in LA, and fell in love with the three-piece set. It is collaboration between Balenciaga and a Parisian designer from the 90s. I loved the cut and off-white tones of the corset top, and immediately felt confident when I put it on. Originally it had this long dramatic train, which was amazing, but didn’t feel quite as “me”, especially given the setting. I went back and forth, but ultimately decided to alter the skirt to a simple A-line silhouette.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We had been engaged for about a year and a half, and very quickly realized a big wedding just wasn’t the right fit for us. We live in Altadena, so had a bit of a rough start to the year with the Eaton Fire. Afterwards we decided to elope – we thought it would be nice to have something to look forward to and liked the idea of keeping the day just between us. We wanted the day to feel true to us as a couple – low key, relaxed, fun, and not too serious.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Not really! Honestly having Tyler Branch do the photos and his wife Katie shoot the Super 8 really made all the difference. We also feel so lucky to have the video to share with our family and friends that couldn’t be there.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Don’t put too much pressure on yourselves, and do it in whatever way (however big or small) feels the most like the two of you.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Andrew at Cowboy Petals was recommended by a friend. I sent him some inspiration and he created such a beautiful arrangement. He hand delivered them the morning of the wedding, which made everything so easy!