i always love having opportunity of shooting cultural weddings. i met with charlotte last year and was so excited to be hired to photograph her and mike’s wedding. earlier this year i photographed charlotte and mike’s engagement shoot, and since charlotte and mike travel frequently for work, we did a lot of communication via email regarding the details of the wedding day and her photography plans and ideas. in addition to wedding-related chatter, charlotte, being a foodie, she gave me some great tips on where to find true Québécois poutine made with real cheese curds.

charlotte is from singapore and her family spoke mandarin, while mike’s family spoke cantonese. i love being able to document cultural and family traditions, and this wedding in particular had some especially fun parts to photograph. i witnessed some hilarious games and a pretty tea ceremony which happened before the traditional style wedding ceremony that i am used to. before tea, the groom was quizzed by bride’s friends and family and had to partake in humorous demands before the mother of the bride released her daughter to the groom.

i asked charlotte about some of the details of her wedding day and she said:

The Chinese tea ceremony was requested by my mom. Basically it is a way for us to thank our families for raising us. The groom comes to the bride’s house to collect the bride. But the bride’s friends and family will try and block the groom and his men. The groom will have to go a series of games to prove his love for the bride. At the end, the girls will negotiate a price for the bride. Usually the number ends in 99. So $299, $399, etc.

When the groom claims the bride, they are supposed to go to the groom’s family to do the tea ceremony. Then they return to the bride’s family to do the tea ceremony. We did it all in the same room to save time!

Mike and I are so laid back, so we wanted fun pictures. Mike requested the lakefront shots and I like indoor shots and vintage looking locales, so Union Station was awesome! I love the look and feel of your photos! Very different from the others I have seen and very imaginative! That was ultimately the reason why we picked you!

after their wedding, the bride and groom headed to Curaçao for their honeymoon where they went to explore the island’s shores via scuba diving.

婚礼摄影师在芝加哥
中文和粤语的新娘和新郎

charlotte purchased adorable containers for the wedding rings which were enscribed with to have and to hold.the bride’s mother watched over over the groom during some lighthearted gamesthe groom answered questions regarding his new bridemike and char were a very easy-going couple – they joked around a lot and had a blast all day!two families came together during a tea ceremony overlooking famous michigan avenue. they had one of the best hotel suites i have ever photographed in.charlotte takes tea to present to the families.i heard someone mutter that some of the tea had some wasabi in it!the groom leaves the room before the bride changes into a white wedding gown.simple bouquet of flowers to match a simple elegant dress.the groom waits in the hotel lobby for a scheduled “first look” as the bride descended down a grand glowing staircase.we took a limo to museum campus and played a little game of trust over lake michigan.the chicago skyline is in the distance as the groom holds on tight to his bride.charlotte forgot the disposable adhesive heating pads in her hotel room to keep her bridesmaids warm for outdoor photos so we went to union station after museum campus. she had prepared for inclement weather by buying a photo permit in advance for union station so that we would have no issues if we needed to use the location as a setting for her wedding photos.the groom looked dapper don’t you think?the groom looked dapper, don’t you think?we wrapped up our 90 minute photo shoot by heading back to michigan ave and the bride and groom were cuffed by a chicago cop (all in good fun of course!).the newlyweds had beautiful rings which i photographed on the stem of a tulip.cocktail hour…what a cute nephew and a proud father!here are some of the wedding reception details including favors, cupcake centerpieces, and an overall theme of red – the color of happiness.and a toast…and a cake cutting and a cake smoosh followed by a smooch.guests seemed to be having a great timecharlotte’s matron of honor was just as fun as she, and raised the bar on the dancefloor getting everyone going!the bride and groom were a very fun laid-back couple to work with, and definitely know how to throw a party!

wedding ceremony & reception: marriott magnificent mile
makeup: monique madrid styling
dj: one stop dj (peggy liao, speaks mandarin and taiwanese)
alterations on white gown: Ms. Couture
alterations on qi pao/chengosam: oriental fine tailor

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