Gorgeous Wedding Unifies Cultures at Golden Dragon in Chinatown Los Angeles

Shirley Ng and Samuel Ahn wed at Golden Dragon Restaurant in Los Angeles' lively Chinatown with a design that beautifully blended Chinese, Korean and American wedding culture. A motif of the day was nods to the movie "In the Mood for Love," and much of the décor paid homage to the film's iconic ambience. Shirley and Samuel opted to have three ceremonies to solidify their union, including a traditional Korean Paebaek ceremony and a Chinese Tea ceremony in addition to a western-style exchange of vows. Shirley and her bridal party were reminiscent of classic glam style, adorned in Cheongsam. The Old Shanghai era was a big source of inspiration, and the couple even snuck away to have a photo shoot conceptualized around that idea. 

Rich and regal reds were the prevailing color of the design, which also elegantly blended glimmering golden accents. A seating chart with escort cards featuring Chinese dragons and golden details hung below a fan which held the L.E.D. sign reading "In the Mood for Love." Wedding Planner Sarah Wang of My Wedding Songbird elaborated on the rich details, "We’ve incorporated a lot of Chinese elements into the design, such as the iconic double happiness sign, red lanterns, Chinese floral fans, lion red envelopes as the seating chart, Chinese porcelain vases, Chinese lunar calendar, and more. We hung a ton of red lanterns in various sizes and draped the entire restaurant in lush red drapery from ceiling to the walls, then illuminate them with red uplights which was actually well balanced by the red drapery. To recreate those Old Shanghai performance stage effect, we had edison light bulbs to go along the drapery swags across the sweetheart table backdrop that has a huge round gold double happiness symbol accented by cherry blossom branches and large peonies designs." 

The day was full of vibrancy and celebrated Shirley and Samuel with a carefully-curated style. As favors for guests, Shirley collected Chinese painted porcelain vases from around Chinatown to hold floral arrangements which doubled as stylish keepsakes. For a surprise addition to the reception, the bridesmaids organized for a classic lion dance to perform and stay for photo-ops with guests and our newlyweds. As a mouthwatering late-night snack, Golden Dragon's team prepared some of their renowned dim sum bites for guests to enjoy; many of the guests from the event said they loved seeing a classic and familiar restaurant transform for this elevated wedding celebration. The entire wedding exemplified the power of cohesion with a well-planned theme; Shirley and Samuel were glowing in all three of their unique ceremonies and were able to honor each culture they were connected to, making for a joyous union with a stylish twist.