Sunee and Spencer’s wedding from Ever After Visuals took place on Valentine’s Day, but instead of going with a more traditional color palette of pink and red Sunee and Spencer chose beautiful winter wedding colors of navy and light blue accented with hints of fuchsia.  Sunee mixed Southeast Asian details inspired by a six-week trip to Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines where they became engaged with fantastic food inspired by Spencer’s Southern heritage for a completely personal and unique winter wedding.

From Sunee: Our February 14th wedding was a hat trick of holidays Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras Bacchus mixed with a sprinkling of snow (more like, record breaking snowfalls the week prior), and handcrafted details to make for a cozy, intimate, and very personalized affair for our closest family and friends.

The inspiration for our ceremony and reception was our six-week summer ’09 vacation in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand.  It was in Hong Kong that Spencer bought a bracelet with the Chinese double happiness symbol representing marriage.  In the Philippines, Spencer proposed with the bracelet as the finale to a lavish spa experience, and wedding bands were purchased soon after.

While in Thailand, we designed my dress to be made by a family friend, while another family friend designed the engagement ring.  To unite the warmth and exotic feel of Southeast Asia with winter in DC, we chose a palette of navy and frosty light blue with hints of red and fuchsia to tie in Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year.

Just about anything that could be made by hand invitations, programs, menus, place setting favors, centerpieces was a welcome DIY project for me.  For centerpieces, orchids in ceramic pots were dressed with photos of guests seated at each table named for a location visited during our vacation.

We’re foodies and oenophiles, as our many of our friends!  We selected our menu based on our favorite seasonal flavors, paired our wines accordingly, and treated guests to a locally farmed artisanal cheese course with port in addition to cake.  One of the layers of the cake was a sublime Tupelo Honey with lemon buttercream and blackberry filling, as a nod to Spencer’s Southern heritage.

Fortune cookies dipped in pink chocolate held wishes of friends + family = double happiness and lucky numbers 02 14 20 10.

Sunee’s advice to other DC-area couples:

Think outside of the box!  Consider an off-season event or a non-traditional day.  There is no harm in asking for a discount.  If providing your own beverages, ask the store for a bulk discount.  Creating a presentation board to share with potential vendors makes it easy to communicate your vision.  As planning progresses, photos of the venue(s), fabric swatches, and other details can be added.

The following Washington, DC area wedding professionals contributed to Sunee and Spencer’s wedding:

Venue: Oxon Hill Manor
Catering: Occasions Caterers
Photography: Ever After Visuals
Floral Design: Spot Floral Design
Music: Chris Laich Music Services
Cake: Kendall’s Cakes
Bride’s Attire: Family Seamstress
Groom’s Attire: Nordstrom
Invitations & Paper Goods: DIY

Don’t forget to visit our vendor guide for more fabulous Washington, DC area wedding professionals or our real wedding gallery for more beautiful Washington, DC area weddings!

Photo Credits: Ever After Visuals

Submitted via Two Bright Lights