Major micro wedding goals ahead with this stunning wedding captured by Lena Lim Photography! The couple chose an intimate garden ceremony (complete with surprise duck guests!), followed by a tea ceremony and mini reception. The blush and burgundy color palette was perfect for their early December wedding. You are going to love the bride’s chic off the shoulder gown!
We wanted an elegant and classical wedding, featuring a heritage theme. I have always wanted a garden wedding and as we both loved the outdoors, it was an obvious choice. Specifically, I wanted a large garden, with a water feature. Edmund and I adore old architecture and these style of buildings epitomized elegance and nostalgic solidity. Wanting the best of both worlds, we chose to have a garden ceremony at the Rippon Lea Estate in front of the lake, and we couldn’t look past the stained glass domes of the grand ballroom at the Hotel Windsor. Keeping to a classical theme, we wanted deep colours so our colour palette featured burgundy, emerald green, with a light coral. I also wanted floristry that was a bit more eclectic and had more free-flowing art form rather than rigid structure.
For us, the most important thing was that when the day came, we were utterly free of worry. As such, we went through a lengthy process of discussions with all our vendors and chose very carefully who we wanted to help us conduct our special day. We didn’t feel the need to ‘splurge’ on anything. We decided what aspects we wanted and we made sure that we allocated an appropriate budget – no more, no less.
On the day, we remember chatting with each other throughout our vows. Even standing at the edge of a large lake in front of our small collection of family and close friends, it seemed like the world faded away and we just whispered our own conversation as if no one else existed. It was a magical moment.
Being from a traditional Chinese family, we had a tea ceremony at The Hotel Windsor just before dinner. Although our families did not request the tradition, it was important for us to integrate our heritage into our nuptials. However, aside from the red dress, the tea ceremony did not follow the usual traditions. The usual traditional Qipao was replaced by a more modern A-line take on the traditional gown. We also opted for a simple tea set (Maxwell Williams) that featured red florals instead of a specialty tea ceremony tea set which would have little use after the wedding.
Aligning to our color palette and our heritage theme, we wanted flowers that were also in season and it was important that they were constructed in an eco-friendly way and didn’t incorporate the use of foam. Our floral design brief included the use of peonies, and smoke bush for structure, but on the proviso that these were seasonally available. We wanted arrangements that featured coral pink Phalaenopsis orchids with dangling Amaranthus. These elements were carried through in the asymmetric bridal bouquet, and the single orchid plucked from the bridal bouquet as a boutonniere. All family boutonnieres were different, but complemented the overall theme, and the table scape included varying-sized arrangements with whimsical structure to accentuate a more natural arrangement of the flowers.
Photography: Lena Lim Photography | Ceremony Venue: Rippon Lea Estate | Reception Venue: The Hotel Windsor | Floral: Wild in Love | Rentals: Weddings of Distinction | Hair and Makeup: Elly Liana | Dress: Eternal Weddings | Groom’s Attire: MJ Bale | Bride’s Shoes: Nine West | Jewelry: Michael Tink | Accessories: AliExpress | Officiant: Jane Austin | Submitted via Matchology
