On Saturday, Ryan and I got the chance to shoot the very special wedding of Linda & Kwei. It was our first Chinese wedding and we really enjoyed observing some of the unique cultural traditions.
Linda and Kwei’s fathers had known each other as schoolmates in China and both familes had since them moved to the states. When Kwei made the move from Ohio to Arizona, his Dad put him in touch with Linda’s family to help him get settled there. They met, became friends, started dating and ten years later the rest is history! This very sweet couple celebrated their day among family and friends at the Golden Buddah Restuarant located at the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix. Here are some of our favorites:
The day began at Dolce Salon in Chandler where Linda was getting her hair and makeup done.
Loved all the great colors at Dolce :-)
Linda has the most contagious laugh! I love the interaction between her and her sister in these next two:
And talk about a gorgeous bride . . .
Checking out the final product . . .
Behind the restaurant there was a very cool garden complete with fountains, a Koi Pond and other great details. Here are some portraits of the lovely couple:
Ryan suggested that they show off their dance skills to get warmed up for the reception – we just LOVED how these turned out!
Part of their reception was a traditional tea ceremony where the bride and groom serve tea to the elders in their families. In exchange, they are given small red envelopes containing gifts to represent the families’ blessing on their marriage:
Linda got teary eyed when her parents presented her with some very special jewelry.
Loved this reaction shot during the toasts!
Linda was so embarrassed when Kwei removed the garter from her leg without using any hands! So cute :-)
Instead of a cake, they served Sprinkles Cupcakes as their reception dessert :-) Even though they didn’t have to cut them, they still enjoyed a little bride-groom tasting.
A few sweet moments from their first dance:
CLICK HERE to watch a slideshow with more great photos from their wedding day!
Thanks Linda & Kwei for letting us be a part of special your day!
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Linda & Kwei’s Wedding: Chinese Cultural Center
December 10, 2008
Dec 10
I love the first portrait picture of them in the circle. So cute!!! Another beautiful wedding! Well done friends!
All of the pictures from the garden are just beautiful! But my favorite is that one near the end of the slide show where they’re in the hallway, it’s such a beautiful, intimate shot, it’s like you weren’t even there. And of course, i was salivating over that pile of Sprinkles cupcakes!!
Thanks for the compliments guys! A funny little note about that hallway shot . . . I think the couple probably thought we were a little nuts when we asked them to pose there – it was a dark little the hallway leaving to the kitchen and right outside the bathrooms! You just never know where you’ll find an awesome shot with cool lighting, but without a camera in hand it sure didn’t look like much. And of course we kept having to wait for people coming in an out of the bathroom! They REALLY thought it was wierd that we were shooting out there :-)
Did you have to pay for this blog template. I like it! Can I download it?
Hey Laura! Thanks for the comment. Our blog began as a free template, but we have customized a lot of it since then with coding and different wordpress applications to get the look and feel that we want. (Note: we use the wordpresss interface, but it’s actually hosted on our own site so it’s not technically a wordpress blog. You can find lots of free templates by doing a google search for worpress templates.) Best of luck! Feel free to email us if you have any further questions – happy to help!