A Blend of East And West Cultures in Sunny Los Angeles

Melissa Hammam
November 2, 2022
Categories: Cultural Beauty, Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

This beautiful wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club is the perfect blending of cultures. Done in a palette of peach and green, the couple worked with Somni Events to plan the perfect East meets West celebration- California style. Whimsical blooms by Lily Roden Floral Studio are endlessly romantic, and every joyous moment and well thought out detail is artfully captured in imagery by Katie Jackson Photography. Enjoy all the pretty inside the full gallery.

From the bride… My husband and I met in medical school, and it was an instant love story. We became friends on a long drive to a group camping trip in Sequoia, and after 4 hours of amazing conversation, we knew that we had found someone special. We knew that we wanted to apply to residency together and get married before we graduated medical school. We were so fortunate to both end up at UCLA for residency, so our wedding was not only a celebration of our love, but a celebration of our graduation, our careers, and the life that we would be able to build together! Since Los Angeles is home for us, we wanted an outdoor venue in Los Angeles that overlooked the ocean, to showcase the most beautiful elements of Southern California. We went to a few places, but when we saw the Bel-Air Bay Club, we knew we had found the perfect venue. My husband is Taiwanese and I am Chinese, but we both were raised in the US. We wanted a western wedding, but we felt that it was important to us to infuse elements of our eastern Asian cultures. I also knew that I wanted a more modern peach and green color palette for our spring wedding, rather than the traditional red. We had to get creative in looking for ways to incorporate those cultural elements into this non-traditional color palette. We specifically looked for a Taiwanese wedding planner who could help us achieve this vision, and Michelle from Somni Events not only had an incredible eye for design, but also was able to speak Mandarin with our family! Our photographer Katie Jackson Photography was also so incredible to work with – we were really comfortable with her from our engagement shoot, and she was able to beautifully capture the light, airy springtime aesthetic I wanted. She also made sure to make time for a separate photoshoot for me in my qipao!

For our table numbers, we decided to name each table after a Chinese character. My dad actually helped me come up with a list of characters, which included words like love, happiness, fortune, and family. I asked my good friend to help us design our invitations, and she put together a beautiful rendition of the BABC patio, as well as a gorgeous peachy floral design that I used as the backdrop for the table characters. We thought long and hard about our guest favors, because we wanted those to be personal, long-lasting, and unique. We found an incredible vendor called TangPin Tea, who had a beautiful selection of tea cups, and we were able to personalize these by adding an inscription of our initials and our wedding date to the bottom of the cups. We chose teacups with a crane design, to symbolize longevity and peace, which we hope for our guests and our marriage together. Our guests loved our favors and we got many pictures from them using the tea cups afterward! One element where I did opt for the traditional red was in my qi pao. My husband’s older sisters both wore white dresses for their ceremonies and red qi paos for the reception, and this was a tradition that I wanted to continue. I found a vendor called East Meets Dress that made a gorgeous array of qi paos, and I picked one that was a little more modern. I loved the mandarin collar and the beautiful intricate floral detail on the bodice of the dress. It was affordable, and they make all their dresses to custom measurements! I chose to do my father-daughter dance in my qi pao, which was so special for me and my dad.

One of my favorite vendors was Eat Domi, who made our wedding cake. I had been obsessed with the desserts from Eat Domi for a long time, because they make gorgeous Asian inspired desserts. They’re famous for their profiteroles, which include black sesame, strawberry jasmine, and hojicha flavors. We decided to a chocolate cake with hojicha (roasted tea) ganache, paired with black sesame and strawberry jasmine profiteroles. I can’t even express how incredible these were, and our guests raved about our dessert. We completed the dessert table with a large gold double happiness sign, which made for a gorgeous background for the cake. The double happiness symbol is so important in Chinese/Taiwanese celebrations, and we knew that we had to incorporate it somehow! My husband and I identify strongly with the Asian American experience, and we wanted to showcase that blend of cultures. I wanted our venue and design to embody Los Angeles and California, as this is where we consider home. I think that came through in the Bel Air Bay Club ocean view and the spring-time peachy green palette. I also wanted it to capture symbols from Chinese/Taiwanese culture, such as the table characters and our crane teacups, and show off the amazing array of Asian dessert flavors that exist beyond matcha! My husband and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day! For future brides of looking to blend different ethnicities and backgrounds, you should do whatever feels most true to you! Your wedding can be as traditional or modern as you want, and with the array of products available online, it’s easier than ever to blend the two. However, it’s important to set out with a distinct vision so you don’t get lost in the details and endless options, and it’s always helpful to have a wedding planner and designer who has experience with cultural weddings.

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Senxi & Terry