You might have been able to tell through this blog, but I photograph quite a few mixed race couples. I don’t market towards it or anything, it just happened to be this way, maybe because I come from a biracial background and they can sense my hapa vibes through the interwebs? :) I love it though, and I feel like in certain ways my upbringing has made me extra sensitive to these things – to merging cultural traditions, to celebrating this diversity in your household, to the feeling that when two backgrounds come together, the result is not half of each, but double.

And so, one of my favorite aspects of Sara & Tri‘s wedding was the way they wove their cultural traditions elegantly into the day. A cozy Vietnamese tea ceremony, a sunset Jewish ceremony under the chuppah, signing of the ketubah, multiple-course banquet meal, and tons of dancing (which is basically wonderful tradition in every culture :) It made me overjoyed to see how their families from both sides completely embraced and enthusiastically participated in every cultural aspect of the day, whether it was their own or otherwise.

And to tie this all together, Sara & Tri chose a beautiful venue and filled it up with the loveliest details. How yummy are those bouquets? Kim of Art with Nature somehow gathered all the prettiest, petaliest flowers in the world (peonies! ranunculus! dahlias! garden roses!) and put them together beautifully…

Cake from Susina Bakery!

Some of my favorite things about this wedding, in no particular order: superhappy people, a charming venue, omg-pinch-me-this-light-is-amazing light, witty groomsman, sweet bridesmaids, an ethereal dress, and the smiles, the smiles!! Anh & Todd were filled with joy that day, and this was reflected perfectly back to them in the faces of every single one of their family and friends :)

As always, it does wonders to have a coordinator like Uyen on hand to pull everything together! And thanks to William Kim for second shooting!

I love intimate, cozy, charming weddings like these. It helps to have a lovely little venue {the French Estate steals my heart every time!} but so much of it is in the subtle details – a set of “LOVE” keys gifted to Elisa by her sister, tea canisters as vases, scattered literary favorites, a display of childhood photos – everything homey, thoughful, and meaningful to Elisa and Andrew. Some sweet additions – in lieu of a cake they had a churro bar (with ice cream!), and they lovingly handcrafted heart-shaped rice krispy treats one by one, as a favor for each of their guests.

And the joy! Can you feel the joy? It was all around :)

A special thank you to William Kim for shooting with me, and Uyen of Sassy Girl Weddings for being beyond awesome as always and making our jobs so so easy. Seriously that girl has the magic touch, every wedding she coordinates flows beautifully without a hitch!