A Garden Party Celebration of Love and Heritage in the Heart of Italy

[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]

Our wedding’s main theme centered around light blue—my favorite color since I was 14—which we chose to complement the soft pastel tones of baby blue, peach, light rose, fuchsia, and lilac green. This gentle palette created a cozy, rustic atmosphere that resonated with our love for natural materials and understated elegance.

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[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]

In the early days of our friendship, he captured love stories through his lens as a wedding photographer, while I orchestrated them as a planner. We’d often daydream about the weddings we’d create for others, never guessing that one day we’d be designing our own. Life had other plans, and when it did, we knew instantly: our celebration would be small, heartfelt, and brimming with joy—a reflection of the intimacy we’d always valued. United by our wanderlust, we envisioned a destination wedding that doubled as a getaway for our loved ones. Italy’s sun-drenched villas and lush gardens became the perfect backdrop, blending our shared love of travel with a garden-party elegance, inviting guests from China and Canada to savor la dolce vita alongside us. Being of Chinese origin, we infused our wedding with meaningful Chinese elements—Chinese circular fans, tassels, cheongsam-inspired details, traditional embroidered favor bags, Chinese stamps bearing our names, and an ancient-style handwritten marriage license by my father. To balance tradition with our Western celebration, we incorporated romantic elements like a white umbrella, hand fans, and the symbolic throwing of rice, blending cultural customs seamlessly.

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[field title=”Proposal Story”]

Just a few days before our seventh anniversary together, Polk secretly transformed a quaint cottage into the stage for his proposal. A close friend whisked me there under the guise of a casual outing, where a heartfelt video he’d crafted began to play. As the screen faded, I followed a path to the backyard and found him perched on a stool, guitar in hand, surrounded by his bandmates strumming the breezy melody of *Summer Night Open-Air Movie*. My friend gently guided me closer, and the music shifted to the tender chords of my favorite ballad, *不再让你孤单* (‘I’ll Never Let You Feel Alone’). Midway through the song, the notes softened, and there he was—kneeling in the golden light, ring in hand, turning our years of love into a promise of forever.

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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

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[board_carousel title=”First Look”]

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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]

My dress from Oscar de la Renta’s 2020 Fall collection is my dream dress since I first saw it when it was published, a strapless high-low gown with a dramatic rose at the front—an immediate choice when we decide to hold our wedding. The second wedding dress is from Yuai, a famous independent designer brand in China. The dress is full of details and perfectly fits my body shape, so I decided to wear it as my morning dress before the ceremony.

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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]

At the beginning, we are planning to have different colors for each bridesmaid. But when I sent them the pictures to pick, they all picked light blue, so we decided to have all of the dresses in light blue. Each selects their own dress to ensure they love their look.

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[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]While our bridesmaids embraced a unified palette of light blue, we sought to weave subtle individuality into the groomsmen’s attire. Opting for sleek light-gray suits as their foundation, we infused personality through bespoke bow ties in varying hues—each shade thoughtfully paired with coordinating boutonnieres, creating a harmonious yet distinct rhythm within the wedding party’s aesthetic.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]

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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]

Most of our guests traveled from China and Canada, so we hired Osteria del Donca to craft a menu of authentic Italian dishes tailored to our preferences. We welcomed guests with refreshing cocktails like Cuba Libre and Italian-inspired fresh lemonade from our gelato supplier, Appetitosa Feste & Eventi, offering a taste of Italy from the moment they arrived.

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[field title=”Florals & Decor”]We envisioned an intimate, rustic celebration. Most of our decor featured wood materials, evoking a warm and inviting ambiance. For the ceremony, we crafted an embrace-style altar with a lush greenery arch, symbolizing our unity and embrace of each other. Arrangements along the aisle appeared to grow organically from the earth, emphasizing simplicity and breathing space.

For the reception, our tables boasted imperial-style arrangements—small glass vases with seasonal flowers, candles, and tea lights—creating a romantic glow. Personal touches included flower arrangements at the welcome and signing tables, beside our vintage light blue car and Vespa.[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]

Our wedding cake was a handcrafted Italian Millefoglie—layers of crisp pastry, velvety cream, and ripe seasonal berries—artfully prepared by our caterer. As we shared our first slice, cold fireworks erupted in a choreographed cascade of light, transforming the moment into an enchanting finale that mirrored the sweetness of the cake itself.

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[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]We poured our hearts into handwritten vows, promising forever in words as unique as our journey. For the ceremony’s soundtrack, Queen of Weddings’ string duo wove our love story into music, beginning with a whimsical twist: their bespoke rendition of *I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)*—a nod to our favorite *How I Met Your Mother* episodes. The procession unfolded like a symphony: groomsmen entered to *Can’t Help Falling in Love*, bridesmaids glided in with *River Flows in You*, and I stepped toward forever to the timeless elegance of *Canon in D*. As newlyweds, we exited to Joe Hisaishi’s *Summer*—a melody rarely heard in Italian weddings, but one that carried the warmth of our shared memories.

The celebration crescendoed at the reception, where Guty & Simone mastered our multicultural playlist, seamlessly blending Chinese ballads (despite the language barrier!) with crowd-rousing hits. Their intuition for rhythm and mood turned every note into a heartbeat, proving that love—and music—needs no translation.[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]

As passionate DIY enthusiasts, we poured our hearts into crafting every detail of our wedding stationery—from invitations with watercolor painting of our venue and wax seals with our unique logo to welcome cotton signs & cotton seating charts (featuring our favorite fabric, hand-stamped with love), each element told our story. We designed a custom welcome booklet, brimming with curated wedding details and heartfelt guidance for our guests, and adorned reception tables with delicately calligraphed place cards glistening with mother-of-pearl accents. Every piece was a labor of love, blending personal touches and artisanal charm to celebrate our journey. Also, we included our cat in most of our designs to make sure he’s part of the story, as he cannot physically be present at the wedding.

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[field title=”Special Detail #2″]Our creativity carried into the cocktail hour, which we styled as a whimsical garden party. Guests enjoyed a ring toss game with fun prizes, an instant photo booth, a Lego mini-figure customization station, and personalized blind boxes filled with magnets. Paired with an array of hors d’oeuvres and a beautifully curated food and drink station, the experience was designed to be playful, interactive, and unforgettable.[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]

We each had different visions when it came to our wedding photography—he gravitated toward the crisp, high-speed precision of digital photography, perfect for capturing fleeting moments and low-light scenes, while I was drawn to the nostalgic charm and timeless artistry of film, where every shot feels intentional and irreplaceable. To honor both perspectives, we brought in two photography teams—one digital and one film—so we could beautifully capture our day through both lenses.

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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

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