With a backdrop created by ethereal florals and stately redwoods, this stunning wedding from Winnie Dora Photography is elegant and romantic with just the perfect touch of cozy. We love how the couple incorporated so many personal details, from handmade signage and calligraphy, to the gorgeous traditional Chinese and Vietnamese outfits that they changed into during the reception to greet their guests!
We grew up in the Bay Area and have spent many weekends camping, hiking, and exploring new trails. Having an outdoor venue with the California redwoods was a must! We fell in love with The Mountain Terrace because it had a beautiful view of the Bay and was nestled in the redwoods. We wanted our wedding to feel really cozy and intimate, and the fire pit, the beautiful market lights draped across the terrace and the trees, and the layout of the venue really added to the atmosphere.
When I arrived at the Sarah Seven salon in San Francisco, I knew I’d find my dress! I love the sleek and modern look, and loved that all the dresses were so simple but elegant. Since the dresses were made to order, I ended up mixing the top of one dress style with the classic signature Sarah Seven bottom. Not only was it my perfect dress, but it was so comfortable! We love dancing, and it was important that I would be able to move comfortably throughout the night. For the bridal party, I wanted my bridesmaids to feel comfortable as well. They were given the freedom to choose any shade in the mauve palette, and any style they liked for their body type.
One of my favorite parts of the day was walking down the aisle. My father almost forgot to line up to walk me down the aisle! My coordinator tapped him on his shoulder and instantly, he sprinted towards the back once he remembered. I’ve never seen him run that fast in my life!
Our colors were natural green, white, and shades of mauve. Most of the decorations were DIY, except for the flowers and the Welcome sign. We loved that the venue had a fire pit, so we had a s’mores station – an ode to our camping trips.
The most important thing to me was the overall aesthetic – the flowers and the decorations had to tie together, and the photography had to capture the essence of our wedding. For Justin, the most important thing to him was the music and the ambiance (aka, the party!). This was great because we are both “experts” in both, so we got to divide and conquer! We chose to splurge on the flowers, the videography, and the photo booth because we wanted nice photo strips for guests to take home, and it was a cute photo op on the outside of the bus as well! We were more budget-conscious on the decorations, and tried to DIY them as much as possible.
We love Satura because it’s a European-Japanese bakery – we love that Japanese cakes are lighter and less sweet, and we grew up eating cakes from Asian bakeries. We chose three flavors – matcha, strawberry shortcake, and mango coconut mousse. It was a hit among our guests!
I’ve been dabbling into hand-lettering, and wanted to DIY a lot of my decorations. I cut some wood, stained it a dark walnut color, and painted my signs! I created a s’mores menu sign, a bar menu, our wedding hashtag sign (#NguLiWeds), and a sign for blankets in case our guests got cold throughout the night. I got a template for our menu and escort cards from Etsy, and created our table numbers.
We hosted a tea ceremony with our families the weekend before that combined our Vietnamese and Chinese heritages. On our wedding day, Justin and I changed into our traditional Vietnamese and Chinese garments during dinner. It meant so much to us and our families to be able to share a part of our culture. It was also so fun to do costume changes – Justin had white pants for his Chinese outfit, and kept those on for the reception!
Photography | Winnie Dora Photography | Venue | The Mountain Terrace | Planning | Rivero Events | Florals | Bellevue Floral Co | Stationery | Minted | Videography | Collideskope | Cake | Satura Cakes | Hair & Makeup | A List Makeup | DJ | The celebration DJ | Guitarist | Stephan Kane | Photo Booth | The Booth Bus | Wedding Dress & Veil | Sarah Seven | Groom’s Attire | Indochino | Bride’s Shoes | Sam Edelman | Bridesmaid Dresses | Azazie, Birdy Grey, and Lulu’s | Wedding Ring | Anna Sheffield | Submitted via Matchology
