Milly&Kalan@GreenTea House Wedding

2012 7月7日北京, 中国

From the bride, Milly:Our wedding was held on July 7th, 2012 in Beijing, China where we met, and where both our families now live.We come from diverse backgrounds – Kalan is Bermudian-British-American, was born in Papua New Guinea and raised in Pakistan, Israel, Albania, Italy and the Philippines, while I am Persian-American, was born in Hong Kong and raised in China. So we both wanted a wedding that didn't conform to any particular tradition. The idea of a big elaborate dress, an aisle to walk down, and overdone decorations didn't appeal to us. We decided on a low-key color palette of mint green, cream and gold. The ceremony was the most important part of the wedding for us. We are both members of the Baha'i Faith, so we had a simple ceremony emphasizing readings, prayers and the exchange of the Baha'i marriage vows. Then guests were led outside for a buffet of delicious Persian food. Unfortunately, it started raining just as people were settling down to eat! But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Not only did we get to enjoy the truly hilarious sight of people rushing inside (in high heels and with napkins on their heads), but it also created a wonderfully casual atmosphere for the rest of the night. After dinner, we had some performances and speeches, including Kalan surprising me by singing my favorite song from when we met. The night ended with a whole lot of dancing. Details from the wedding that I love include:1. The "Family Tree" was a tree on which we hung photos of our parents, grandparents and other people we love. We thought this would be a great way to honor the amazing people that came before us and include family members who weren't able to make the long trip to China. We especially loved having photos of our parents on their wedding days.2. I had a lot of trouble deciding on a dress. I wanted something unique and meaningful. So when my mother showed me a wedding veil that her grandmother had worn to her wedding in Iran in the early 1900's I knew I just had to use it! The veil is hand-embroidered with strands of pure gold into intricate patterns onto a beautiful mesh material. I was in love! After some deliberation, I decided to make a wedding dress out of it. I had a tailor make a simple slip to wear underneath and sew the veil around it in a delicate painfully long (but absolutely worth it!) process.3. Our families all contributed their unique talents to make our wedding a reality. The cake (or should I say cakes?) was designed by my mother, who created beautiful peony bases on which they were placed. Kalan's mother helped with finding the venue and decorating the space. Our whole extended family spent the day of the wedding arranging flowers and setting everything up. My cousin who is a graphic designer designed the program and invitations. My sister created the bird-shaped placement cards and worked hard on coordinating logistics. Kalan's sister who has a beautiful voice performed a song during the wedding and set the playlist for the evening. His other sister created a beautiful slideshow of our childhoods and courtship that was shown after dinner. Another cousin of mine manned a station where people could take polaroids, sign them and hang them up as a guestbook. My brother coordinated the finances. Even my little 10-year-old sister contributed at every stage of the planning process. It was amazing to see how much time and effort our family and friends put into making our wedding what it was. This, for me, was the best part.

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