As originally seen in the pages of The White Wren Volume 8: Little Love Stories, Kim and Dan’s celebration at La Joya Dulce is one we couldn’t resist sharing in greater detail. Filled with deeply personal traditions, playful surprises, meaningful nods to family, and an unmistakable sense of joy, their wedding was a beautiful reminder that the best celebrations are the ones that feel entirely your own. [Explore Volume 8: Little Love Stories here →]
Some weddings are memorable because of their beauty. Others stay with you because every detail reveals something about the people at the center of them. Kimberly and Daniel Liu’s celebration at La Joya Dulce in Steamboat Springs, Colorado managed to be both – a joyful, deeply personal wedding filled with color, incredible food, family history, cultural traditions, and plenty of unexpected whimsy.
Originally featured in The White Wren Volume 8 print magazine, Kim and Dan’s wedding is one we couldn’t resist revisiting in greater detail. From Vietnamese coffee and matcha welcome drinks to handmade fortune cookie favors, Mandarin vows, a Shrek karaoke reception entrance, and a wedding cake cut with a sword, their celebration was never about following a formula. Instead, they filled the day with the things they genuinely love – and invited their guests completely into their world.
Their story began in a decidedly less romantic setting: quality control at a biotech company. Dan worked in sample management while Kim worked in microbiology, regularly picking up samples from him for testing. Dan still remembers the day she accidentally dropped one and responded, “It’s fine, this is fine, everything’s fine,” as the moment he knew he wanted to ask her out.
That sense of playfulness has remained a defining part of their relationship. But beneath the humor and unexpected details was a wedding grounded in something deeper – being present, honoring family, celebrating culture, and building the kind of marriage that lasts.
A Wedding Filled With Their Favorite Things
Food became one of the most expressive parts of Kim and Dan’s celebration. As self-described foodies, they wanted the menu to reflect both their tastes and the experiences they love sharing together.
Guests were welcomed with drinks from Ti Cafe in Denver, including matcha and Vietnamese coffee. Dinner incorporated Indian food alongside some of Dan’s favorite Chinese dishes, while the dessert spread included graham cracker cake with dulce de leche filling, cannolis, key lime pie tarts, passionfruit cake jars, and more. Later, a ramen bar kept everyone fed well into the night.
The personality continued beyond the menu. Kim and Dan handmade fortune cookies in the weeks leading up to the wedding, filling each with a word and its definition – a nod to Kim’s tradition of using foreign words and their meanings in her Instagram captions.
And then there was the reception entrance.
Dan secretly coordinated the wedding party to karaoke the “Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party,” bringing one of Kim’s dreams to life in spectacularly unserious fashion.
It was exactly the kind of joy they believe belongs in a marriage.
“Add whimsy to your life however you can.”
How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?
We met working in quality control for a biotech company. Dan worked in sample management and Kim worked in microbiology. Kim would pick up samples from Dan to test. Dan recalls the day where she accidentally dropped a sample, famously saying “its fine, this is fine, everything’s fine”, as the day he knew he wanted to ask her out.
Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship!
Dan made Kim’s dreams come true on their wedding day by coordinating the entire wedding party to karaoke the “Shrek in the swamp karaoke dance party” as their entrance to into the reception.
Our wedding favors were fortune cookies we handmade the weeks before the wedding. Inside each cookie, the fortune was a word and definition (Kim is known for her instagram captions always being foreign words and their meanings (which also made it into the vows)). Somehow, the fortune cookies we received on our place settings had a fortune inside neither one of us wrote. A handwritten note that simply said, in all caps, “WE WANT GRANDCHILDREN”. To this day neither set of parents have owned up to incredible fortune cookie switch.
Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
Kim’s (or my) [however you want to write this, as I or kim, I know I keep switching between 1st and third person]
Kim’s last surviving grandparent (Ed) passed away in late 2023. It was important to Kim to be able to incorporate her grandfather (Ed) and his love story into her wedding. Ed and his late wife Lena were married just shy of 49 years before Lena passed away (Kim was 12). It took a few painful years, but Ed began to talk about Lena again and how they met. They met at a bowling alley when he was dropping his friend off. He asked if he could drive her home, and then he asked if he could see her again sometime. He had known her for 2 weeks before he got his new orders (he was in the air force) for deployment. Lena just responded “Take me with you.” And the rest was history.
Kim had a voice recording of Ed telling this story and just before she walked down the aisle, she played his voice, telling this story, in the hope that her marriage could have the love and commitment that her grandmother and grandfather had.
What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?
Being as present as possible in the wedding was very important to both of us. It is easy to become overwhelmed, even with joy when you are surrounded by all of your loved ones. One of Dan’s favorite moments was directly after the ceremony when they both got 10 minutes to just sit with each other (and enjoy some desserts ) and take in the fact that we were indeed, married. That really grounded us before moving on with the rest of the night.
A few days after the wedding, Kim asked her friends for photos or videos from the wedding. The most common response was “we were having so much fun, we didn’t take any photos.” This brought Kim the most joy to know that in an age where everyone is always connected, her loved ones were able to disconnect and just be present to witness their love story.
What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another?
Even though we are adults, we are still allowed to have fun. Add whimsy to your life however you can. Dance in your living room together, play hopscotch whenever you see it on the sidewalk, take a photo whenever you see a photobooth. We’ve learned that if you have a partner that is willing to be silly with you, then getting through the serious stuff is a lot easier.
What is your favorite thing about each other?
Dan is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. He is very focused on his community and doing what he can to support and be a part of it. He will drop anything he is doing to go and help a friend. He is a light in a world that can sometimes seem very dark.
“If you have a partner that is willing to be silly with you, then getting through the serious stuff is a lot easier.”
What was your favorite part about planning your wedding?
About 4 months prior to the wedding, Kim began taking lessons in secret. Through the help of a woman from their church, Kim was able to learn her traditional vows in Mandarin (Dan’s second language and his parent’s first). When the wedding day finally came, their Pastor had Dan recite his vows first (in English), then turned to Kim and said repeat after me, and proceeded to begin the vow in Chinese. Dan began to laugh, because he thought the pastor was making a joke, only to go into stunned aw as Kim began to recite her vow in Mandarin.
Additionally:
We LOVED picking the food for our wedding. We are both big foodies, and we wanted to make sure our guests were well fed. our Caterer, Lindsy Manceaux, did a fantastic job incorporating Indian food (one of our favorites) as well as some Dan’s favorite Chinese dishes. Our baker, Amanda Neaton made a lovely dessert bar for us, featuring a graham cracker cake with dulce de leche filling, but also had an assortment of other treats including cannolis, key lime pie tarts, passionfruit cake jars and more. To pop the wedding off, we had welcome drinks from Ti cafe in Denver, featuring matcha and vietnamese coffee. To finish off the night we had a late night ramen bar. Planning all of the food elements was really fun and allowed us to share our love of food from around the world with our closest friends and family.
If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be?
Never stop going on new adventures together. it makes the days longer and sweeter in a world where time just seems to pass us by.
What is the most honest thing you can say about love?
Despite what the movies and romcoms have told us about love, it isn’t always easy. Love isn’t just finding your person and then the rest just works out. Love, like anything in life, takes consistent work from both partners. It may not always be an effortless storybook romance, but if you are willing to put in the work, you can still have a love that takes your breath away. A love that feels like it belongs in a movie. A love that lasts a lifetime.
Venue: La Joya Dulce / @lajoyadulce
Planner: CroixAnn / @croixann
Photo & Video: Carolina W. Rivera / @carolinariveraphotographer
Catering: Lindsy Clarice Manceaux / @louisianalindsy
Desserts: Gingerly Baked / @gingerly_baked
Bar: Yampa Valley Shakers / @yampavalleyshakers
Florals: Double Dutch Floral / @doubledutchfloral
Entertainment: DJ Connection / @dj.connection
Rentals: Colorado Event Rentals / @cerevents
Hair & Makeup: Jaded Beauty / @jadedbeauty_
Tux: Generation Tux / @generationtux
Dress: Anna Bé Bridal Boutique / @annabebridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie / @azazie
Jewelry: Etsy / @etsy
Stationery: Minted / @minted
Transportation: Steamboat Limos and Shuttles / @steamboatlimos
Rentals: BBJ La Tavola / @bbjlatavola
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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