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Yao and Chris were married last weekend at Island Park in Ann Arbor, which makes me a little sad, because now I don’t get to work with them any more! It was a beautiful day for a wedding, and so personalized to the two of them with Beatles songs guiding them in and out of the ceremony. Panache provided all the music for the wedding, including a trio for the ceremony, a jazz duo for cocktail hour and dinner, and a DJ for the party!

Steve from The Wedding Connection officiated, and to bring in some of Yao’s Chinese heritage, a crane ceremony was included. Yao made 170 red cranes which were passed out to each guest as they were seated, and during the ceremony Steve had them all place a wish on the cranes for Yao and Chris as they were collected by some of their friends.

The reception took place at the Gandy Dancer in Ann Arbor - and it looked amazing! MPE Events set up the decor for the event, including chair covers, sashes, centerpieces, votives, lanterns, and a white panel by the dance floor with a red gobo and uplighting. Yao provided table numbers, menus, the place card board, and a polaroid guest book that I set up (and my intern Johanna did a great job manning the guest book!).

The night ran very smoothly, and everything was on time within 5-10 minutes. Guests were able to choose among three entrees, including teryaki steak with wasabi mashed potatoes, ginger encrusted salmon with jasmine rice, and lemon chicken with jasmine rice. The couple wanted to bring an Asian influence to the dishes, and those were decided upon at out tasting several months back - it was delicious!

Cakes by Rubina provided a small cake to cut as well as dozens of cupcakes to be passed with other mini desserts throughout the after-dinner hour. Yao made the cake topper you see above. Everything was caught on camera by Linda Wan, a local photographer who was just wonderful to work with throughout the process. I think she loves timelines more than I do!

Epic Motion provided videography services (3 camera-men!) and I can’t wait for the trailer they are putting out soon - it will be shared! The captain’s table was set for 21, and included dates of the bridal party as well. This is always a nice touch if possible so no one feels left out at a far-away table!

Kristina from the Gandy Dancer was wonderful to work with - if I could, I would do a wedding there once a month! She is incredibly attentive and gets bonus points for spending time with me figuring out the right napkin fold for Yao’s menus!

Congratulations Yao & Chris - you guys are wonderful people and I wish you the happiest life together! Stay in touch!