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I met Joy and Steven only a few months ago down at their venue, the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. We walked the ballroom, explored the ceremony site, and sat down at the bar to talk about their wedding. What Joy and Steven wanted was to make their wedding (or at least the after party) all about their friends. They all used to go dancing at clubs, ending the evening with a late night snack at the taco truck. However, their challenge was both of their families (whom were a very traditional mix of Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, and Chinese) wanted to have dinner, eat cake, do some ballroom dancing, and say goodbye before things got too crazy. Their wedding coordinator, Farrah from Mele Amore Events, came in and together, we helped Joy and Steven blend the tradition their families wanted with the club/party atmosphere they wanted.

 

Their ceremony was a beautiful blend of Christian and Buddhist traditions stemming from Joy and Steven’s different cultural and religious backgrounds. The nuptials were wonderfully brought to life by the always-amazing Reverend Steven Stewart with Words for All Occasions, whom I met a few months back at another wedding and was able to refer to Joy and Steven. From the ceremony, to the cocktail hour, to the lavish four-course dinner, the guests were taken on a journey of wonderful food, plentiful drinks, and joyous conversation. As promised, I even got the family members up to dance some cha-chas in the middle of dinner!

 

After the formalities, it was time to get the club started. It took no effort to get everyone on the dance floor. (However, I cheated a little bit by inviting all the ladies up to witness the garter removal, while all the guys cheered Steven on from the opposite side of the dance floor.) The music was an awesome trip (for me and the guests) down memory lane, with lots of great hip-hop and pop from the early 90s on. (I’m talking Run DMC, 2Pac, Brittney Spears, ‘N Sync…oh yeah!) At 10:30, the King Taco truck pulled up just outside the ballroom foyer and dished out delicious, spicy tacos for everyone to reinvigorate themselves. They needed it too, because after they ate, we kept the dance floor going all the way till the Westin kicked us out (at midnight)!  My only regret that evening…tacos weren’t on my meal plan.

 

Dave’s recommended vendors from this wedding included:

• Mele Amore Events & Photobooth (Farrah Dang, coordinator) – www.meleamore.com
• Words for All Occasions (Reverend Stephen Stewart) – www.facebook.com/Words-for-All-Occasions
• Cinema Photo Studios (Photography & Video) – www.cinemaphotovideo.com