Song surprised Jessica with a holiday in Hawaii and a romantic mountaintop proposal. The couple, who were introduced by a mutual friend during an event at Song’s restaurant, stopped at a lookout with views to Honolulu and the ocean. As she walked to the vantage point, she noticed white rose petals strewn on the trail. They led to a canopy draped in white and a table decorated with 100 white roses. Once there, Song read from a book he wrote about their relationship and then took a knee.
The overall wedding design desire was romantic, modern and intimate as they only invited 50 guests to celebrate with them on the hotel’s rooftop. To compete with the views of the sprawling city skyline and to focus attention, So Happi Together employed elegant draping, sparkly chandeliers, blush lighting and hi-gloss seamless white flooring, which reflected a mirror image of the ceremony and heightened the drama. A wide variety of vines and spring flowers–peonies, tulips, ranunculus, roses, posies, spirea, hyacinth, lilac, jasmine—in a range of blushes and whites and lots of candles added softness. But as they are also both Korean, they wanted to incorporate nods to their culture and ethnicity like the traditional unity candle ceremony and white rice cakes.
Multiple items had two jobs to do on the big day. The reception tables and chairs also functioned as ceremony seating, which is a popular wedding trend in Korea. Each place setting had a booklet that contained both the menu and the program. (Technically, these had a third purpose because the hand-dyed silk ribbons they were bound with were color-coded to indicate which meal the staff should serve that person.) The petite cakes doubled as favors and escort cards. Covered in a gorgeous spray of flowers and greens, the ceremony arch was also used as the backdrop to the sweetheart table at the reception. Table settings featured ornate pink and gold Florentine chargers, rosy wine glasses and goldware with handles that looked like they had been dipped in Pantone paint while a lounge area featured pink tufted furniture. The flower girl carried an inventive floral wreath wrapped onto a gold hoop and wore a pair of playful bunny ears as a nod to the Easter holiday on which the couple married.
