Forget a color scheme! Anne and Tac had a Kate Spade theme for their wedding.
That’s because Kate Spade is modern, fun and “embodies my approach to life,” says Anne, mentioning how the product line reminds her of New York City, the location where she and Tac first vacationed.
The couple met when Anne was in high school and Tac was in college. “After 10 years of being together, we knew we should stop making everyone wait and just make it official,” says the bride.
The two-year engagement gave her lots of time to pull together all the details. Tac was happy to let Anne “do all the planning because she is so organized and on top of everything,” he says.
Anne and her family had no experience with the Chinese wedding customs like a tea ceremony and banquet, traditions Tac’s family wanted. Trying to mix two cultures and traditions together was challenging, but the couple did it with success.
Early in the morning of the wedding day, the couple had the traditional Chinese tea ceremony with family. “I offered tea to all the elders in the family I was entering,” says Anne. “In addition to a tea offering, there were cakes, cookies and other sweets laid out so Tac and I could offer different foods to the different aunts and uncles. In return, they gifted us with different pieces of jewelry and monetary gifts to wish us luck in our marriage.”
They married later that day at The Citizen Hotel. “We had scattered about 10,000 different colored rose petals as the aisle runner and had about 60 to 70 people in attendance for the ceremony,” says Anne, explaining they wanted an intimate ceremony since 400 guests attended the reception.
The reception, held at Happy Garden Restaurant, featured a traditional 10-course Chinese banquet. “The last course was a Chinese sweet soup requested by my family,” says Anne, explaining soup was made with lily and lotus to symbolize 100 years of good luck in marriage and many offspring.
The five-tiered cake, in flavors like fruit basket, princess torte and lemon chiffon, each featured a different Kate Spade-inspired design. For example: a white glitter tier, a black and white striped tier, a solid gold tier and two gold and silver polka dotted tiers. The cake was finished with flowers and of course, a Kate Spade topper.
The bride loved the head table, which was dazzling with a sequined tablecloth, crystal accents, large centerpieces with a variety of flowers and the finishing touch—a chandelier. “It was just amazing,” gushes Anne.
Family and friends thoroughly enjoyed the celebration. “I knew everyone had been waiting for us to get married for a long time, but the sheer joy that I could see on both sides of our family was really touching,” says Anne. “It made all the hard work of planning worth it.”
— Kristen Castillo
