A Colorful Celebration of Chinese and Spanish Cultures at La Venta Inn
We love seeing people from a multitude of backgrounds find love, and when two people from different cultures find themselves on the wedding planning journey, we know that they are looking for ways to incorporate who they are separately into who they will be together. This Spanish Chinese fusion wedding was designed by planner Sarah Wang who specializes in Chinese American weddings and is Taiwanese herself. Her goal is to deliver well though-out designs that not only honor the Chinese culture but also partners with other cultures and traditions as she often works with couples that come from different backgrounds. The beautiful grounds and architecture of the Spanish Villa, La Venta Inn, served as the perfect backdrop and inspiration for this Spanish Chinese editorial.
As a fusion wedding, the main goal was to incorporate details that felt special to both Chinese and Spanish cultures. The Chinese double happiness symbol was modernized with a circular design and paired with other elements such as Spanish Tile, Orange Blossoms Fortune Cookies and Chinoiserie patterned fans and vases. We also incorporated foods that hold a special meaning in the Chinese culture; for example, the pomegranate with its many seeds symbolizes fertility, abundance, posterity and virtuous offspring, the longan fruit, which means prosperity and wealth, the tangerine, which means good luck. If you look closely, the blue Spanish tile vellum band on the invitation is the same design on the cake and is inspired by the Spanish tile decorating La Venta Inn's courtyard fountain. The double happiness symbol is always used at Chinese weddings. The symbol signifies two people/families coming together as one, it's double the happiness. The character itself consists of two "happy" characters. This symbol is also on top of the fireplace mantel in our tea ceremony scene in subtle champagne gold color. The place settings were also designed to perfection; the paper used for the place holder fortune cookies have an orange blossom design. Orange trees are so prevalent in Spain, it is no surprise that the orange blossom are the traditional Spanish wedding flower. They represent joy and happiness for the newly married couple, and are also symbolic of fertility. This orange blossom pattern was also used as the envelope liner, a feature we credit to the fabulous paper designer on the team. Under the fortune cookie, a menu card that reads "We're so fortunate to have you," adds a playful vibe to the luxury feel of the place setting. The seating chart sign is also a play on words that says "We're your biggest fans" with a shelf full of chinoiserie fans displayed as the backdrop for the table assignment signs, which match our table number. We incorporated fans as the seating chart, but also replaced the traditional bridal bouquet with a flower filled fan as both the Chinese and Spanish culture have a beautiful history with fans. We incorporated tea sets that are not traditional Chinese tea sets to incorporate the Spanish floral design in our color palette of peach, blush, and red. Red envelopes with cash and gold jewelry are very common gifts parents give the couple during the tea ceremony. Additionally, the bride held a hand-painted fan during the tea ceremony that was brought over from Spain in 2022, it is a unique art piece from one of the remaining street vendors in Madrid.
