Adelaide Wedding from Lia Healy Photography
This beyond adorable couple met and fell in love a long way from home. Transplants from both Hong Kong and China, they held their wedding in Australia, with plans of a traditional Chinese ceremony when they return home for Christmas. Lia Healy Photography was on hand to capture all the pretty moments and you can see even more of them right here in the full gallery.
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From Lia Healy Photography... Joe and Jennifer met in Australia, after separately relocating from Hong Kong and China, respectively. According to Joe and Jen, it is customary that under such circumstances, they would wed and celebrate their wedding in Australia but have another, larger banquet in China when they return for Christmas. As such, the family did not travel for this wedding — thus the reception was a simple dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was also unusual in that neither Joe nor Jen had any attendants. Joe's aunt signed for Jennifer, and his friend from university signed on Joe's behalf. Aside from this, the rest of the day was the most beautiful and intricate affair. You can see in the ring box there is a folded note. As Joe wanted Jen's input into her engagement ring, he proposed with a folded bill and replaced it later once they had chosen a ring together.
Jen was keen to engage her love of all things Western and had a white bridal gown sent from China, where it was sewn by a local seamstress. Joe's aunt and cousin assisted Jen with getting into her white gown and delicate, fawn-colored heels. It was a bittersweet moment as Jen's mother texted her from China to wish her well as she was dressing. The full Catholic ceremony was held at St. Francis Xavier church in Adelaide City. After the ceremony, Joe and Jen returned to their home where Jen changed into her traditional Chinese wedding dress (again, sent from China) for the remainder of the day. It was touching and beautiful to witness Joe helping his new bride into her traditional outfit. The gold bracelets shown are a Chinese wedding custom, and it would not be unusual to see a Chinese bride with these up the entirety of her arm! As Jen is a bling-loving girl, she couldn't resist pairing her Chinese dress with her sparkly Christian Louboutins.
The photography was, according to the couple, the most important aspect of the day, as this is what would be used to convey the emotion and events of the day to the family when it is played on a large screen at the banquet in China.
Wedding Photography: Lia Healy Photography / Ceremony: St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide, South Australia / Floral Design: Alyssiums on Pirie / Wedding Cake: How Sweet it Is / Transportation: Astoria Wedding Cars / Bride's Dresses: Made in China + Sent to Australia / Bride's Fawn Shoes: Sent from Asia / Bride's Sparkly Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Makeup: Millie Herd Makeup & Eyebrow Studio / Groom's Suit: Hugo Boss