An Elegant and Romantic Chinese Malaysian Fusion Wedding

Choosing a dress is undoubtedly one of the biggest decisions when planning a wedding so instead of settling for just one, today’s bride Evelyn essentially chose three, a ball gown which could be turned into a short party dress and a delicate lace dress. From the dresses to the flowers, this wedding is so, so pretty and I love that the couple are up for a bit of fun too. Evelyn and Kenn, both Doctors, who have just celebrated their first wedding anniversary, are both Malaysian Chinese so incorporated some elements of Chinese tradition into their wedding day. This involved a fusion of the Chinese ‘fetching of the bride’ ceremony with the western ‘first look’ which can be seen in the gorgeous film by White Balloon Films. Their planner Carmen Weddings did a wonderful job of creating an elegant and romantic day at Delamere Manor in Cheshire (which also happens to be a Gary Barlow’s former home!).

“Kenn and I met at university. We were first year medical students at International Medical University, Malaysia and were cheerleaders representing our batch. He was my base and I was his flyer. We became close and inseparable since. We were very lucky and managed to get into University of Manchester to complete our medical training and have been working there since.”

Photography by Kylee Yee Photography

“Eight years after we got together, Kenn flew me to Paris over the Easter weekend for a short city break. Little did I know that it was a trip packed with surprises ranging from pastel balloons, afternoon tea at Ladurée, to a dinner cruise along the River Seine. The biggest surprise of all was the proposal; We had the most amazing day roaming the streets of Paris, we people watched from a cafe at Montmartre and took strolls along the River Seine.”

Film by White Balloon Films

“On Pont Des Arts, the Love Lock Bridge, Kenn got down on one knee and popped the question. He was so organised, that he hired a videographer to film the entire experience and then took me up to the Michelin Starred Le Jules Verne on the lower deck of Eiffel Tower for a romantic dinner to celebrate our engagement. We were engaged for 3 years before our wedding day.”

The bride wore two beautiful gowns, a two-in-one princess ballgown by Mywony Bridal, which she wore long for the ceremony and short for the after party, and a long sleeved Rara Avis Ange Étoiles dress for the afternoon. Her amazing winged shoes are by the fabulous Sophia Webster.

“It has always been my vision to get married in a ballgown. I also love how the ballgown skirt falls and that it is asymmetrical, floor length, with a train at the back. My second dress was an elegant lace, long sleeved evening dress which I felt was more ‘me’.”

Evelyn and Kenn enlisted Little Book for Brides member Fletcher & Foley to realise their vision for the beautiful floral arrangements.

Combining large blush and pink flowers with lots of gorgeous greenery, they decorated the space cleverly to create an outdoor feel.

The bridesmaids wore a selection of dresses from RenzRags in a range of different pinks, in lace, tulle and sequins.

The groom wore a navy Ted Baker suit with a pink tie and pocket square from TM Lewin to match the romantic colour scheme.

Evelyn’s god-brother Henry accompanied her down the aisle while ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perry played.

For the ceremony, Evelyn added a cathedral length, Italian soft tulle veil from Honey Pie Bridal, before letting her hair down and adding a bridal hair wreath from Davie and Chiyo when changing her dress.

“We got our wedding rings at Tiffany & Co. to match the engagement ring and for their wonderful after sales service.”

Evelyn and Kenn chose the wonderful Kylee Yee to photograph their day from start to finish. When the couple were dressed and ready for the day, and according to Malaysian Chinese tradition, the groom and groomsmen completed a number of challenges, in order to meet the bride, all of which was captured by Kylee.”

“The couple then did a beautiful first look in the gardens of Delamere Manor, where the wedding party carried pink balloons to go and meet the bride.

The couple gave personalised pots of succulent plants from Fletcher & Foley with their guest’s names in a hand calligraphy lettering design by Polly & Me as favours.

Posh Frocks & Wellies provided the draping and lighting, Whitehouse Event Hire provided the charger plates, crockery and glassware and the garden games, gorgeous library catalogue seating plan and photobooth props were from Sid & Olive.

“I loved every minute of the day, we wouldn’t change a thing, everything ran perfectly. If I had to choose just one favourite moment, it would be our first dance. Kenn has always felt that the song ‘So Close’ from the film ‘Enchanted’ was romantic and would be suitable for a first dance, so it was always going to be the song that we would choose.”

“I love to dance but I have always struggled to convince Kenn to take ballroom dancing with me so for the wedding, I managed to convince him to learn a waltz so I had a complete dance with him, just once.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Hire a wedding planner (like we did with Carmen Weddings) for the entire wedding planning process or for an on-the-day service as it takes away a lot of unnecessary stress from your hands, especially if you have a hectic schedule or live abroad. Set a budget with maximum limit, more often than not you will exceed your budget but what you don’t want is to exceed your maximum limit.”

“As much as it is a once in a lifetime event, it is not wise to overspend your budget or worse, get into debt. Treat yourself with one luxury item that makes your heart flutter every time you use/wear it and invest in a good wedding photographer and videographer because they will help you capture all the beautiful memories that will take place on the day.”

Thank you so much Evelyn and Kenn for allowing us to share your wedding. Thanks also to the lovely Kylee Yee, whose images are an absolute delight.

Love Caoimhe xx