Effortless and chic, Linda & Roman had a gorgeous and elegant wedding in Southern California. We love how their personal touches and cultural history infused the elements of it making it a day that was truly unique for them!
from the planner: “Linda and Roman’s wedding was one of timeless elegance with classy vintage touches at the historic 1920s Ebell Club of Long Beach in Southern California. The venue’s opulent, light-soaked, covered courtyard surrounded by a variety of textures including detailed archways, mosaic floor tiles, and crystal orb chandeliers was enhanced by the airy, refined palette of cream, champagne, emerald, gold, and pops of dusty blue. A lush, asymmetrical arch framed the ceremony space as Linda and Roman were wed before their dearest family and friends. Their vows were so heartfelt and tender that not a dry eye among their guests and vendor team remained. Streaming light danced upon the organic florals and flickering candlelight in the thoughtfully designed reception space as Linda and Roman treated guests to an incredible choreographed first dance as husband and wife. The way Roman looked at Linda the entire day was the absolute sweetest, reflected in all the moments they shared together.
What made Linda and Roman’s wedding even more special and personalized were the Chinese cultural elements incorporated throughout the day. As a nod to their heritage and because Linda and Roman met at a mutual friend’s Chinese New Year dinner party, they opted for a wishing tree as a guestbook alternative, followed by a tea ceremony where the bride and groom wore custom traditional qipao and changshan. A live guzheng musician serenaded guests during the ceremony and cocktail hour. During the dinner reception, guests were surprised with a rousing lion dance. The celebration concluded with everyone dancing the night away, boba drinks in hand.”
How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?
We met at a Chinese New Year’s party through a close mutual friend. Linda was not expecting to meet anyone new that day because most people there were old family friends. Roman was nervous about being at the party because he didn’t know anyone there.
Linda: When I saw Roman, I first noticed that he was someone I had not met before. The funny thing was that a few months prior, a friend had sent me a photo of Roman in an attempt to set me up with him. Life got busy and it never happened. I definitely thought he was cuter in person. I could tell I had piqued his interest and expected him to message me the next day, and he did.
Roman: I was immediately captivated by Linda. I admired Linda before I fell in love with her. Linda’s quiet confidence, elegance and genuine kindness towards others left a strong impression on me after our first interaction. Right away, I felt this desire to have her wonderful energy in my life.
Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
We both have Chinese heritage, thus it was important to us to incorporate our families and Chinese traditions into our wedding day. We held a tea ceremony before our wedding ceremony with just our extended family. Linda wore a modernized Chinese qipao and Roman wore a tang suit both in red and gold. We were able to pay respects to our parents, grandmas, and other aunts and uncles by kneeling before them and serving tea to them. In return, they would hand us a red envelope and give us some blessings in Mandarin. The tea ceremony is also significant because it is also the first time we referred to each other’s parents as mom and dad, thus accepting our role into each other’s families.
Other Chinese elements we incorporated into our wedding day were a guzheng player and lion dancers. The guzheng also known as a zither is an ancient Chinese string instrument that the player plucks. We had the guzheng play before and during the ceremony then throughout cocktail hour. Her melodies echoed beautifully throughout our venue. Lion dancers are traditionally present during important traditional Chinese holidays as well as any significant celebrations like weddings. The lion performers move around the venue doing acrobatics and dances to bring good luck and fortune to the couple. Drummers helped them maintain a steady beat as they danced. The dancers interacted with our guests and seemed to be a highlight of our wedding!
What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?
Choosing each other and getting married
If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be?
Enjoy the process of planning and most importantly relax and enjoy the wedding day! You ideally will only get married once in your life and sometimes getting caught up in the stress of planning out every detail to perfection can prevent you from living in the moment. At the end of the day, marrying the love of your life is more important than the color of the flowers or the napkins.
Having a wedding planner like Helen was absolutely worth it for us because she made sure our wedding day went completely smooth and stress free. We were able to just enjoy the wonderful day we spent so long working towards with her help. I’m sure there were issues that came up during the day but Helen made sure that we were blissfully ignorant. Definitely one of the best decisions we made for our wedding day!
Photographer Joyce Choi Photography
Venue Ebell Long Beach
Stylist / Planner / Designer Ah, Love
Floral Designer Peachy Petals
Dress Boutique Boda Bridal
Dress Designer Boda Bridal
Makeup Artist Makeup by MJ Lee
Hair Stylist Makeup by MJ Lee
Mens Formalwear Trands
Rentals Stephanie’s Linens
DJ/MC: HiFly DJ Events
Music: Annie Zhou Guzheng
Catering: Tres LA Catering
Photobooth: Stay Golden Photobooth
Lion Dance: Qing Wei Dragon & Lion Dance
Boba: Ding Tea Long Beach
Traditional Dress: Cozy Lady Wear
Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulus Weddings
Bride’s Shoes: Valentino
Groom’s Shoes: Velasca
Rings: Belaron Jewelry
Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate
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