A Chinese and American Wedding Styled Shoot : combining of cultures

With the "finale" of the Chinese New Year celebration this Sunday, I thought it would be fun to share with you this beautiful photo shoot from Juliet of Green Orchid Events in Las Vegas. Here's a little bit of the story behind the shoot from Juliet . . . "My inspiration for the shoot came from being a Chinese girl, born and raised in America. Growing up I was torn between my ethnicity and my nationality. Like so many Chinese-American brides, I feel that there must be a way of honoring our heritage while still representing our American culture."

Juliet says she found little inspiration for the Chinese American bride that wished to incorporate both cultures in a modern and stylish way. Juliet says many Chinese themed photo-shoots inspiration boards that she's seen were neither authentic nor carefully done. Sometimes Japanese items were used unknowingly or the Chinese characters were turned in the wrong direction.

For all those involved in this shoot, Juliet provided some cultural information including the idea that the color white in Chinese culture represents mourning and death so white flowers could not be used anywhere in the shoot. The tradition of the American bride in a white dress was kept though.

Juliet wanted to include obvious Chinese elements in the shoot including the color red, citrus oranges, the double happiness character, orchids, bamboo, lanterns, and parasols. But, she wanted them showcased with a more modern style and color palette. Since red is a main color in Chinese weddings {symbolizes love, happiness and luck}, that color remained. But, Juliet decided on bold colors that included a deep red, bright orange and eggplant purple {another lucky wedding color}. From here, Juliet pulled her vendor team together to come up with the perfect "east meets west" inspiration shoot.

The stationery items included hand-glittered flower blossoms with a fresh script font along with some textural elements with the satin ribbon and traditional frog buttons. The bride and groom chair signs featured the flower blossoms incorporated into the script font so the letters looked like flowering branches.

The designs for the 3 cakes was very clean and elegant and the styles were chosen to complement the room of the shoot and not distract from it. The "double happiness" character was used as was the cherry blossom branches for simply beauty. Chinese dress buttons were hand-rolled and the calla lily cake was more American-inspired.

Vendor Credits:

Design Concept and Coordination: Green Orchid Events
Photography: Chelsea Nicole Photography
Floral and Decor Design: Enchanted Florist
Décor, Rentals, and Design: Irene del Rosario at LTevention
Location: Platinum Hotel | Cakes and Desserts: Peridot Sweets
Hair & Makeup: Your Beauty Call
Dress: Bella Bridesmaid
Jewelry: Lola and George 

Signature drink and desert garnishment: Dress the Drink
Chairs: Chameleon Chair
Stationery: Pink Orchid Designs