There’s no denying this affair is dotted with pin-worthy details. But what I love most is the infusion of unexpected treasures that put smiles on guests faces and love in their hearts. My favorite? Old school CD favors with the Bride & Groom’s most-loved songs. So 90’s and sooo fun. And their approach to DIY, or rather, DIWF (do it with friends) is the best idea ever. WINK! coordinated the entire day to perfection and our friends at onelove photography made sure no moment went un-captured.
From the beautiful Bride…Creating a wedding celebration that was fun and personal was our guiding principle throughout the planning process. It’s pretty easy to get caught up in what everyone is doing on Pinterest and the like, but we frequently tried to remind ourselves that what we really wanted was for our guests to have a great time at a celebration that paid homage to the people, places, and life experiences that got us where are today.
First and foremost was the music. We’re pretty big music people, probably a result of the families we come from. There’s always something playing in our household – and usually more than one genre depending on which room you’re in. Naturally our DJ choice was critical and we loved ours. We worked with them to curate the majority of the night’s soundtrack including the 15 minute reprieve of traditional Cambodian dance music that got all the aunties and uncles out on the dance floor.
Then as parting gifts, we gave all of our guests CDs (old school right?) with some of our favorite songs. In the days following the wedding it was so awesome to receive messages from friends saying how much they loved this track or that track. See, who says CDs are obsolete?
Instead of a traditional wedding sign-in book that would probably get shelved away, we thought we’d change it up a little bit and have guests sign a poster frame we could mount on our wall. Vi is an optometrist so we created a Snellen eye chart that read, “And they lived happily ever after.” Now whenever we’re walking down the hallway we can glance through great words of advice from friends including, “Happy wife, happy life.” :)
Last but not least was our tribute to the city that really transformed our relationship from boyfriend-girlfirend status to marriage material. Over the course of three years, Philadelphia became our second home. There, in our little one bedroom apartment on Ben Franklin Parkway, we squabbled over dishwashing duty and cooked our first grownup meals. In honor of Philly and the wonderful friends we made there who were flying cross country to celebrate with us, we had a cheesesteak station during happy hour, complete with an instructional “How To Order” sign a la Pat’s King of Steaks. We also topped off our cake with a mini version of Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture, a replica of which stands in the center of Philly’s Love Park, located only minutes from our old apartment.
All of the decorations were DIWF (DO IT WITH FRIENDS). I had the best bridesmaids a girl could have ever hoped for, truly. They flew into town from all over and showed up at my doorstep with glue, scissors, double-sided tape, etc. in hand and got to work. There were separate stations set up all over my house and I floated through each of them, never ceasing to be amazed at their artistic eye and craftsmanship. These ladies are tax accountants, doctors, marketing and business consultants by day, and Martha Stewart by night! Everything actually turned out even more amazing than I had envisioned. That night doing crafts and drinking boba with my girlfriends was definitely one of my favorite memories from our wedding weekend.
Photography: onelove photography | Videography: Mellow Entertainment | Coordination: WINK! | Florals: Elegant Thorn | Cake: Jay's Catering | Catering: Jay's Catering | Hair And Makeup: Susie Chhuor Makeup | DJ: DJ Puffs | Ceremony And Reception: Serra Plaza