It never fails to set our hearts aflutter when we see a couple merge their diverse backgrounds into one beautiful Jewish wedding. And we adore a peony chuppah. Therefore, we knew from the get go that we were going to fall head over heels for the wonderful Chinese-Jewish wedding of college sweethearts JingJing, who works in data analytics, and Andrew, who’s in software development.
Since these two were planning a Massachusetts wedding all the way across the country from their home in Seattle, they knew they’d need some support in planning the big day. And so they turned to the fabulous Luba of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams, who they knew they could trust to understand their diverse families and cultures.
Luba worked with the couple to incorporate traditions both Chinese – like pops of red, the traditional Chinese wedding color – and Jewish – like the stunning peony chuppah – into the day. There were even some small touches reflecting the groom’s Russian heritage thrown into the mix, like chamomile incorporated into the florals.
And back to that peony chuppah… peonies are JingJing’s favorite flowers (and, after scrolling through these lovely photos by Mark Spooner, maybe ours too?), so it was only natural to showcase them. Mixed with fresh greenery and other flowers in shades of pink, peach, and white, the chuppah struck the perfect balance between minimalism and whimsy, simplicity and lushness.
There’s so much more we could say, but we’re going to leave the rest to the bride, who looked so elegant in her 3D floral lace dress from Emmy Mae Bridal…
A Garden Venue
JingJing, the bride: We got married at The Gardens at Elm Bank at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, MA. We wanted a primarily outdoor venue that would be beautiful on its own, and we were definitely partial to the garden aspect (we got engaged at a botanic garden!). Elm Bank checked all our boxes for setting as well as location and flexibility as a vendor.
A Chinese-Jewish Wedding
We wanted to embrace the aesthetics of a bright, summery garden wedding with colorful florals, and kept the rest of the design clean and simple while still incorporating small elements of our personality and style. We also wanted to include both Jewish and Chinese traditions with the chuppah and by incorporating small pops of red (the traditional Chinese wedding color) in the decor.
We hired Luba of Primavera Dreams because we knew we needed help planning from across the country and wanted someone we could trust to understand our families and culture!
Invitation
Our invitations were a custom design from an Etsy seller that we printed with Catprint. We wanted them to reflect our floral meets modern minimalist design style.
Hair + Makeup
I chose Maricruz Hairstyles after reading nothing but glowing reviews about her and she is the sweetest person and so talented. I wanted something modern but relaxed and she was wholly enthusiastic about doing essentially a “fancy ponytail” for me on the day-of!
My makeup artist was Lisa Chy who I found through a blogger, and I couldn’t have been happier with her! I really wanted to have someone who was experienced in Asian brides and she was so easy to work with and made all my different bridesmaids look fantastic as well.
An Emmy Mae Bridal Dress
I wore the “Bec” dress from Emmy Mae Bridal, which I found at Lovely Bride in Seattle. I loved the 3D floral lace and the sleek silhouette.
Accessories
I wanted a bold but lightweight statement earring in line with the floral theme and went with the Frida Kahlo pair from Moss Handmade. I didn’t want a veil but liked the look of something sheer and flowing so instead attached tulle “wings” onto my dress for a similar effect. 🙂
Shoes
I wanted all the extra height I could get but also wanted to be comfortable and practical! My shoes were simple strappy nude sandals with a chunky platform heel purchased from Nordstrom.
The handsome groom
The groom’s suit was customized from Suit Supply – we went with a dark, slightly ink-y blue that complimented him and gave his jacket a red lining. The floral tie was a last-minute find that managed to match our bouquet colors perfectly!
Bridesmaids
I had three bridesmaids and they wore different styles of chiffon dresses from Amsale in a dusty slate blue color, which they got from Bella Bridesmaids. We matched the groomsmen’s floral print ties to their dresses.
Peony Chuppah
It was discussed with the floral designer. The chuppah had incredible bunches of peonies blended with other flowers and fresh greenery. I wanted something that was lush in florals but also had both whimsical and clean/modern elements. Kseniya of Floristika Studios couldn’t have been more accommodating in translating my vision into reality! We went with a simple, minimalist frame, lots of peonies, strung flower garlands and light greenery to keep it fresh.
A Personal Ceremony
We worked with our rabbi to customize the ceremony to focus on the traditions we felt resonated the most with us and our families. Andrew’s young cousins were the flower girls/ring bearers and they handed out flowers to guests as they walked down the aisle, and a dear family friend from Israel gifted us the ceremony wine. My favorite part of the ceremony was that the fountain behind us turned on right at the moment of our kiss, which was a total surprise!
Ketubah
Our ketubah was also from Etsy and we worked together on customizing a modern text that reflected our values. We did our ketubah signing at the wedding rehearsal the day before.
Our music choice
Our wedding party walked down to the instrumental version of ‘Dog Days Are Over’ by Florence and the Machine, which I think has such a light and optimistic intro. We switched over to Jim Brickman’s rendition of ‘Air From The Water Music Suite’ by Handel for the flower girls and bride processional.
Our recessional song was ‘This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)’ by Natalie Cole and the guests existed to the cocktail hour to the Brasstracks cover of ‘In My Feelings’ (a groom request 🙂 ).
Our first dance was to ‘Coming Home’ by Leon Bridges and we did parent dances to the Florence and the Machine cover of ‘Stand by Me’.
Peony Perfection
I love flowers and knew I wanted to include my favorite peonies for our wedding. The lovely and talented Kseniya of Floristika Studio helped refine our vision for not only the florals but the overall decor. We went for a palette of a lot of pinks and peaches with small pops of red and cream and light blue accents. (We also incorporated a little chamomile as a little symbolism to the groom’s Russian heritage!) I loved how our escort table turned out with all the little bud vase arrangements, that were later used as favors for our morning-after brunch!
Photographer
Our photographer was Mark Spooner – we loved Mark’s work for the range and depth of emotion he captures, and think he has such a good eye for those little moments.We used Stop Go Love to capture only raw footage for video (for posterity!).
Food
Our catering was done by Cuisine Chez Vous, who were so incredibly fun and easy to work with! They did an excellent job helping guide our menu as well as accommodating our many little asks, such as our signature cocktails and dessert choices. We skipped the traditional wedding cake in favor of chocolate-covered strawberries, specialty donuts from Blackbird Donuts and cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake.
Entertainment
We had a DJ (Michael O’Neill, who is a veteran in the industry and was wonderfully easy to work with) which was great for ease and flexibility for our eclectic music tastes. We had all generations on the dance floor and folks we’d never expect dancing, which was great!
Favors
Both sides contributed to the favors! We had traditional Chinese candy in red pouches from as well as handmade chocolate-covered candied orange slices made by the mother of the groom!
Instax Polaroid and Tattoos
We wanted to sprinkle in some small, fun touches of the things we enjoy at parties to incorporate our personalities, while keeping the atmosphere focused on friends and family. We skipped the traditional guestbook in favor of a couple Instax polaroid cameras so guests could leave us a photo and document the night as it went on. We had botanically-themed temporary tattoos as an additional party favor. For the reception, we displayed old photos of our parents and us as children, which is always fun for us to see at other weddings!
Honeymoon
We went to Greece, and split our time between the islands of Crete and Santorini. We stayed at the Sophia Luxury Suites in Imerovigli in Santorini which was amazing, and our room had an indoor cave pool!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Do the details for you, but don’t sweat the small stuff that other people won’t notice! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with planning the perfect party with all the perfect details, but in the end the things that matter most are the intangibles – the mood, attitude, love and you and your partner – these are the things that make a great wedding! So plan early and thoroughly, but on the day of, let yourself relax!
JingJing & Andrew’s little white book
Photography – Mark Spooner
Wedding planner – Primavera Dreams {save $350 on any package + a bottle of Champagne to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Stop Go Love
Venue – The Gardens at Elm Bank
Bride’s dress – Emmy Mae Bridal found and fitted at Lovely Bride
Bride’s shoes – Nordstrom
Bride’s earrings – Moss Handmade
Groom’s attire – Suit Supply
Bridesmaids – Amsale purchased at Bella Bridesmaids
Groomsmen – Indochino
Hair + Makeup – Maricruz Hairstyles + Lisa Chy
Flowers – Floristika Studio
Catering – Cuisine Chez Vous
Donuts – Blackbird Donuts
Cupcakes – Georgetown Cupcake
DJ – Michael O’Neill
Lighting – Retonica
Ketubah – Happy Project
Rabbi – Avi Teken
Honeymoon – Sophia Luxury Suites
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