Have you ever seen a wedding with so many smiles?! I’m not sure it’s possible, every single face in every single photo of Jessica and Melissa’s wedding is beaming! The couple live in Shanghai but were married in Berlin, where Jessica is originally from.
“We met in Shanghai in 2007”, said Jessica. “Melissa enrolled into seven month diploma course and I was teaching it! There was flirting and I thought she is so beautiful! However I was actually really shy so it took five months for us to become a couple. We married 10 days after our seven year anniversary.”
“We initially dreamt of a garden wedding very rustic bohemian style”, she continued, “with open fire bowls, lots of paper, balloons and candles. However we couldn’t go through with it because we don’t have a garden! Instead we had our ceremony at Gruenderzeitmuseum , which my dad chose because it was founded by a transvestite, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf! He thought that it would be suitable haha! Our reception was at Bar Anhalt and was recommended by my best friend after our original venue cancelled on us five days before the wedding! We almost had a nervous breakdown but it turned out even better because Anhalt was much more us!”
“We love Downton Abbey, vintage dresses and the 1920s so this was what started off our theme”, she continued, “but we still had candles and lots of flowers and our balloons everywhere! We planned everything from Shanghai, where we live, and Manila, where Melissa was working, but our friends and family were amazing help, especially my dad.”
“We didn’t have any bridesmaids and we let everybody wear whatever they wanted. We wanted everyone to be happy and comfortable, the most important thing was that they were all there with us on our special day.”
“We also prepared a little bag for everybody”, they said, “We put some special foods and flavours in from Germany and The Philippines! We had guests from China, Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Sweden and Germany so we wanted everybody to have a taste of where we are both from.”
“We would say to other couples getting married – try not to stress!”, they concluded. “Easier said than done sometimes but even if something goes wrong last minute, none of your guests will knew what it was supposed to be like before. They’re there just for you anyway!”
You May Also Like
Michelle & Deborah’s Romantic Parisian Themed Wedding
Kat
April 1, 2011
Michelle & Deborah's touching ceremony was one of the main reasons I wanted to share their wedding with you all today. Quite apart from all the beautiful and individual details the couple put into their day, the readings and poems that they selected for their ceremony made this wedding really special and signified their relationship perfectly.
They chose Shakespears Sonnet 116, a section from the children's book "I Like You" by Sandol Stoddard and "I carry your heart with me" by E.E Cummings for their vows. Finally in order to include the fight for equality they read the Massachusetts ruling on marriage. They thought it was so simple and basic and spelled out what marriage meant to them in a perfect way.
"FROM GOODRIDGE V DEPT OF HEALTH (Mass. 2003): Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. Without question, civil marriage enhances the “welfare of the community.” It is a “social institution of the highest importance.” Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family… Because it fulfils yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition….It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a 'civil right'."
Read more...
A 1920s Speakeasy Carnival Themed Wedding: Emily & Jesse
Kat
May 24, 2012
Vintage themes aren't always my bag, but throw a 1920s carnival idea at me and I go weak at the knees! A strong theme like this, done really really well, gets me very excited indeed.
Emily & Jesse were married at The Voorhies Mansion at Edenvale Winery. It provided the perfect canvas for their creative ideas! "I would encourage anyone planning a wedding to use wedding tradition as a springboard and focus on the experience you want your guests taking away from your event," newlywed Emily told me.
Read more...
A Roaring Twenties ‘Peaky Blinders’ Wedding
Kat
Katie Dervin
April 22, 2016
Helen and Rich are hooked on the TV series, Peaky Blinders, so when they came to plan their Manchester wedding, they based it on their favourite show. "It was only natural that we decided to join the Brummy gang for our wedding day", Helen explained. "Also, Rich's father grew up not that far from the real Peaky Blinders gang, he has Irish heritage, and I have always been obsessed by the 1920s. It just made sense."
Read more...
A Great Gatsby & Peacock Themed Wedding at Nonsuch Mansion: Chloe & Michael
Kat
July 25, 2012
The first thing Chloe & Michael decided upon for their wedding was the venue. They picked Nonsuch Mansion, in the heart of Nonsuch Park, as it held great sentimental meaning to them. They'd spent a lot of time there thoughout their relationship and so having the wedding there made total sense. "The mansion is built on the site of Henry VIII’s long gone Nonsuch Palace and is located in the middle of a huge park that we live within a few minutes walk of," Chloe explained. "The park is very important to us and we spend lots of time in there, running, walking, picking berries, lazing in the sun with a beer etc when the seasons are right! In fact, it was lazing in the shade of a tree just by the mansion on a sunny afternoon when we first said 'I love you' - so it’s a pretty special place. Choosing the venue really was a no-brainer for us!"
Read more...
A 3-day Wedding at a Rockstar’s Retreat: Holly & Karen
Kat
June 6, 2012
Ridge Farm, a working farm and ex-recording studio in Surrey, proved to be the perfect location for Holly & Karen's May wedding. "What made our wedding Rock n Roll? Definitely the venue!" Holly told me. "Aside from being a beautiful farm that we fell in love with instantly, Ridge Farm is also a recording studio where so many of our musical heroes have recorded albums and stayed - so our wedding guests were partying in the very same place that Queen, Whitesnake, Muse, Roxy, Rush and many more have partied! We hired the farm for the entire long weekend - Karen is Irish and it's Irish tradition to hold 3 day long weddings so we had a big meal on the Friday for family and friends then the wedding on the Saturday, followed by a pool party with live music and a hog roast for everyone on the Sunday. The farm sleeps 24 plus there is a camping field so all our hungover guests could just crawl out of bed on Sunday morning and stumble over to rejoin the party. By Sunday evening everyone was in the jacuzzi swigging prosecco from the bottle, even Karen's mum!"
Read more...
New Orleans Masquerade Wedding: Leslie & Collin
Kat
Select Studios
May 22, 2013
I receive upwards of 50 submissions on a daily basis, and needless to say I do see a lot of very similarly styled weddings. So when a wedding like Leslie & Collin's lands in my inbox I'm over the moon, thrilled and super duper excited to feature it because it's just so different. I'm totally losing my cool over this theme and the way the couple executed it. They also planned and styled the entire wedding themselves, making it a million percent more awesome in my book.
Read more...
A Big Vintage Tea Party: Alastair & Lee
Kat
Tim Bishop
March 18, 2013
I'm lucky enough to get to blog a lot of gay weddings, and whenever I do I never really like to make a big 'thing' about the fact that is it one. To me, a wedding is a wedding and love is love and whether it's a guy and a girl, two girls or two dudes getting hitched makes not a damn bit of difference. But with Lee & Alistair's wedding, I just can't help but make a point of how happy it makes me to see these two guys getting married. It's so utterly clear from these photos how much in love they are, and I'm so bloody chuffed to be able to share their story with you today.
Read more...
Chicago Boat Wedding: Sonia & Balthazar
Kat
November 20, 2012
Sonia & Balthazar's wedding was anything but typical. This casual couple turned up late, got ready in minutes, sailed off on a boat for the ceremony and had a meal at a Russian restaurant for their reception.
"My husband and I are in love with the sea - the smell, the mystery and the expansiveness", began the bride. "We feel most comfortable near large bodies of water, so the idea of getting married on a boat seemed like the most appropriate. We had sailed on the Red Witch in 2009 with Balthazar's aunt and uncle in Port Washington during a tall ship festival. We overheard the Captain saying that they host parties and weddings and looked at each other simultaneously, with the same thought in mind: this is our vessel of love."
Read more...