This wedding in Washington DC right here? If you ask me, it’s the perfect way to kick off 2015. That is, of course, if you like to begin the New Year with a heavy dose of pretty and a handsome couple! It’s Jewish traditions meets Taiwainese-Chinese cultures meet all kinds of awesome for Mark and Shawn’s multicultural affair, and DuHon Photography was behind the lens capturing every bright and bold detail that you’ll be pouring over all morning long. Make sure to check back in this afternoon to see their personal and intimate wedding reception.

From Shawn: We wanted our wedding to reflect us as a couple and our respective cultures. We also wanted it to be a laid back event, just a big celebration shared with close family and friends.

We put a lot of effort into every detail of the wedding, trying to infuse it with something that reflected our cultures or something we shared together as a couple. In our wedding program, we had a page explaining the traditions and symbolism that our family and friends saw throughout the wedding ceremony and reception.

We had to look at several temples in order to find a rabbi who was willing to conduct our ceremony. This was actually a challenge because only one groom is Jewish, not to mention it being a same-sex marriage. Temple Micah was wonderful and made us feel at home. The temple, its rabbis, and congregation warmly welcomed us into their community. The head rabbi conducted a beautiful ceremony that included the Jewish blessings and both grooms breaking glass, which is now inside mezuzahs in our home.

To add a personal touch and to further incorporate our respective backgrounds into the wedding day, we had a table with family photographs (such as pictures of Mark’s parents’ wedding, Shawn’s grandparents’ wedding, and childhood photographs of both grooms.

We had our cocktail hour first, before the ceremony. We did this because it was Saturday and we needed to start the ceremony at a later hour (because of the Jewish sabbath and rabbi). This had several extra benefits though–everyone had already eaten a little bit, was already having a good time, and no one was late for the ceremony. So when we started the ceremony, everyone was already in a way warmed up–feeling in a more celebratory than cold/sober mode.

Thank you so much Mark and Shawn for sharing your wedding ceremony with us! Be sure to come back later this morning to see their reception. The following Washington DC area wedding professionals contributed to their wedding:

Venue: Carnegie Institute for Science
Officiant: Rabbi Zemel of Temple Micah
Photography: DuHon Photography
Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas
Grooms’ Attire and Shoes: Suit Supply
Accessories: J.Crew and Brooks Brothers
Hair: Charmed Salon
DJ: Shea Van Horn
Cake: Fancy Cakes By Leslie
Cocktail Hour Catering and Linens: Main Event Caterers
Reception Catering: Seven Seas Chinese Restaurant
Lighting: DIY Uplighting

For more vendors, please visit our Washington DC area wedding vendor guide and for even more local ideas visit our wedding inspiration galleries or check out our other Washington DC area real wedding features.

Photo Credits: DuHon Photography