Colleen & Pip's Multi-Cultural Ruby Street Wedding

Alrighty guys... just to warn you - this is gonna be a LONG post. But I promise you it's OH, SO WORTH IT! I have been holding on to this little gem for what feels like FOREVER!! I had to keep it under wraps because it was being featured on Martha Stewart Weddings (yup, you heard that right!) so now that the feature is live, I can finally share with you ALL the epicness of this wedding from last year - woot woot!There were SOOO many unique details and surprises for Colleen & Pip's big day - but one of my favs was that they did a full on traditional Chinese Tea ceremony before the wedding even started. I've done MUCH smaller tea ceremonies with just the parents moments before the ceremony or even during the ceremony - but this was on a whole other level. It all started with Colleen in her custom Chinese dress hidden away upstairs, while Pip and the guys had to perform stilly tricks and dares from the bridesmaids to "earn" his way to see the bride. Hence the hilarious photos above!Then, in a separate house - there was a full on feast and the house was filled with family waiting to eat and be served tea by the bride and groom. It was SOOO much  more than I even expected. It was almost it's own wedding party all on it's own and I loved every second of it. Also - how adorable is Colleen in her dress?! I know, I know. Bombshell.This sign Colleen & Pip had custom made for their big day in hopes of having it displayed in their own - it is a double happy symbol in Chinese and I think it's probably the most perfect symbol to represent this couple. Their happiness for life, love, each other, family, etc is contagious. This sign turned out so rad with the help of Foxtail Florals and their epic tropical backdrop that guests turned it into the unofficial photobooth for the night. It was so fun to see everyone taking pictures in front of it on their phones.Next up is the 2nd dress for the day! Colleen's rose gold sequin "dipped" dress is so unbelievably her and fit the venue and aesthetic so perfectly. I couldn't stop staring at her! Colleen is one of those humans that just exudes happiness. I cannot begin to describe what an honor it was to work alongside her for her wedding day and execute her vision. She had SO many good ideas and put a lot of trust in me to execute them all. We love you Colleen!!Here's a little bit more about Colleen & Pip's love story (it's a good one, folks!) from the Martha Stewart Feature"Colleen Clark and Pip Ngo met on the subway in Brooklyn. He didn't ask for her number but later wrote a missed connection ad on Craigslist. She didn't find the ad on her own, but because she'd told him where she worked, and he knew someone else at the company, Pip asked his friend to look up her email in the directory and forward the link right before Valentine's Day. Colleen was so touched by the thoughtfulness of Pip's post that she answered. They went on a date but didn't click, and he eventually moved to California.Five years later, Pip (who works in film distribution and production) was back in film distribution and production) was back in New York for work and he and Colleen (who heads up Tastemade's travel channel) matched on Tinder. "Thankfully, I had better taste this time around and we started dating," Colleen says. They've been together ever since. About a year and half into their relationship, she moved to the West Coast to be with him, and seven months after that, Pip planned on popping the question a trip to Mexico City. But he got too nervous to travel with the ring and instead surprised Colleen when she got home from work—with lit candles and a big bouquet of flowers."Can we just talk about Pip's mixed gender party for a sec?! First of all... how badass and sexy are these ladies in their suits?! Also... they were probably the most comfortable gals at the wedding! Corie from Foxtail Florals completely nailed their pinned florals with ribbon to set them apart from the crowd. I'd love to see more of this in weddings!THIS SEATING CHART. Okay, this bad boy was a TASK. Haha from the photo, it doesn't look like anything challenging. The sign read - Find Your Fortune and on each little bag was a couple's name. And in each bag there were 2 handmade (by yours truly) fortune cookies with custom fortunes letting the couple know what table they were sitting at along with a silly fortune written by the couple. Now, when we first came up with this idea... the thought was - we'd just order fortune cookies from somewhere and ask that they put our fortune slips inside for us. Turns out NO ONE in Los Angeles actually makes their own fortune cookies. They all order them premade with fortunes already inside of them. Okay, that's not totally true... but the places that do offer custom charge an arm and a leg. So much so, that Colleen & Pip were just going to scrap the idea. I just could NOT let that happen. It was TOO cute! So I gathered my epic Tasteful Team, googled "how to make fortune cookies", and we clocked in about 15 hours making these bad boys over the course of 2 weeks. WORTH IT!!!The bride and groom had no idea the bride's dad had hired a bagpiper to pop out after the ceremony to surprise everyone with a traditional song to escort them out of the ceremony! I was so busy keeping secrets from different people throughout the whole planning - even I was surprised that no one found out!For the overall event design, it was super important to Colleen & Pip to infuse the entire day with aspects of both of their cultures. His Chinese heritage and her Irish roots (and her family's tradition of pulling off elaborate surprises at every event!) So we had 4 different food stations serving up everything from noodles to churros! A full bar offering up classic bourbon drinks and typical SoCal cocktails was a huge hit for all the guests. And the tables reflected our California desert vibes with a touch of tropical appeal. Everything fit so seamlessly at Ruby Street in Los Angeles - it was seriously so colorful and beautiful.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_N8i_pFUMs&feature=youtu.beCoordination: Tasteful Tatters // Venue: Ruby Street // Photography: Nicole Leever Photography // Florals: Foxtail Florals // Video: Kenny Ngo // Catering: TGIS Catering // Dress: Truvell // Tabletop Rentals: MTB Event Rentals // Specialty Rentals: Circa Vintage Rentals // Hand Lettering for Chargers: She Wildflower // Lion Dancers: Immortals Lion Dance