Real Wedding: Olivia & James

black bride Olivia asian groom James kentucky wedding

In high school, the seeds of love were sown by James and Olivia, though either knew it at the time. The two had attended a business and entrepreneurship camp and met there. Being so young, there was not yet a spark, but both began following each other on various social media. Years later and the two began dating. Olivia, who is an energy specialist, says James is “super supportive about everything I do and pursue; he’s my biggest hype man.” Naturally, when it was time to propose and James, an accountant, took her back to where they had their first date — ice cream at Baskin Robbins — Olivia immediately said yes. To plan for the wedding, the couple relied on each other and were able to infuse various traditions and customs into their multicultural celebration. Olivia and James had a Chinese tea ceremony during their reception, done as an honor to their parents. Another personal touch was the clever DIY “mixtape” favors that Olivia and James curated, as a nod to their early days of dating. After an ethereal, light-filled ceremony, where Olivia was given away by her father, the pair celebrated by popping champagne on the front steps. Olivia and James burst into the reception space to the tune of “Swag Surfin'” by Lil Wayne, and the music-loving newlyweds had their first dance as husband and wife. After dinner service, tea, cake and speeches, the rest of the night was about busting major moves on the dance floor for hours into the night.

black bride Olivia asian groom James hugging holding romantic portrait newlyweds just married wedding ceremony husband wife i do mr mrs

black bride Olivia asian groom James hugging holding romantic portrait stairs sitting newlyweds just married wedding ceremony husband wife i do mr mrs

Wedding Details

LOCATION: Versailles, KY

TIME OF YEAR: Fall

WEDDING STYLE: traditional, cultured, fun

CEREMONY & RECEPTION: The Galerie

FIRST DANCE SONG: “Yo” by Chris Brown

INSPIRATION: the bride was inspired by her engagement ring, which is rose gold metal, so they chose a color palette of rose gold and blue

SPECIAL FEATURES: a Chinese tea ceremony during the reception to honor their parents; the couple curated and had custom-made mix tapes made to give as favors; tied a unity knot during ceremony

HONEYMOON: Grenada

COLORS: