“Neverland?” Wasn’t that Michael Jackson’s famous 100 million dollar dream estate? Oh yes, and Chiew’s and Justin’s epic wedding celebration was inspired by just that fantasy. A guest list of 500. A seafood station with an ice sculpture, an 8-course banquet dinner and a dessert buffet at least 30 yards long. A succession of four dresses for the bride. An LED dance floor. A profusion of white orchids. Oh – and as fantasies go, they are sometimes a little unreal: we had a mere eight weeks of planning time!

When Alicia, the groom’s sister, approached my company, A Day Like No Other, with her plan of a 500-person wedding “2 months from today,” I made a big leap of faith and said YES. I am so glad I did! It was intense, it was exciting, and the result of all our efforts… even better than I could have imagined! Come look for yourself!

Wedding Day began early for the bride and her bridesmaids: hair and makeup (by cousin and beauty professional Angela Le Tatsumi) had to be done before the traditional Tea Ceremony at 11 am.

That and a family luncheon at the the house of the groom’s sister were followed by the bride’s first dress change of the day: with the help of her bridesmaids, she slipped into an elegant traditional white wedding dress (by Helen Miller)…

Personal flowers (as well as all altar pieces at church and centerpieces at the reception) were created by Ivy Vuong of Flowers by Ivy…

The bridal bouquet consisted of roses in palest blush pink and ivory, with ivory berries, and the gentlemen got matching elegant boutonnieres:

Meanwhile, Justin and his groomsmen had also dressed up…

… and with that, everyone was ready to go to Church…

…. in a white stretch limousine by Le Grande Affaire. The wedding mass was held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in San Jose, a modern, light filled structure decorated with ivory and light green flowers.

And here comes the bride, escorted by her Dad:

 

After church, the couple went on an extended photo tour with their photographers, Danny and Julia of Danny Dong Photography  and videographers from Solace Studio.

My assistants Jessica, Lisa and Myrtle and I were meanwhile busy setting up the reception venue, Villa Ragusa in Campbell, together with the venue team under the leadership of venue manager Hilary Carpeneti. The huge ballroom had already been draped and decorated all around by Terry Dudley and her team of Fine Linen Creations who also provided the linens, clear Chiavari chairs and tabletop items.

The Head Table, presiding over the room and the LED dance floor, got special treatment, of course.

Bloom Catering had prepared an enormous seafood bar topped with a dramatic ice sculpture – which was filled with delicious scampi!

They had also set up a beautiful cheese-and-fruit station…

with their own exotic floral decor by Duc Quach of Flower Decor, and the same was true for the spectacular dessert buffet of individual cups of custards – at least a dozen flavor varieties! – chocolates, small cookies and and and…

With that we were guest-ready! And this is what arriving guests got to see:

Posters at the entrance – unmistakably the right wedding! Then the stairs leading up to the ballroom foyer, glamorously transformed with draping, flowers and lanterns by Fine Linen Creation in collaboration with Flowers by Ivy…

A “guest book” (actually framed photos of the couple in a shadowbox, with little heart-shaped cards to write on and drop into the shadowbox) and dramatic flower arrangements were awaiting in the foyer, and an impressive table assignment board for all 500 guests!

A flowery “selfie wall” was a hit with all guests…

Modern white lounge furniture (by Stuart Event Rentals) rounded out the elegant setup – and at the far end of the foyer was the seafood bar. An absolute stunner to welcome guests with!

I nearly forgot to say that the “real” bar – the one serving alcohol – was about 30 ft long… then guests took their seats, and in came the newlyweds in a truly Grand Entrance!

Guests were served a delicious 8-course Vietnamese-fusion dinner by Bloom Catering. Bride and groom were the only ones who didn’t get to enjoy much of it – they went visiting tables after the bride had changed into a traditional Vietnamese dress.

After dinner, the newlyweds had one more task to take care of: the traditional cake cutting.

The rest of the evening was sheer fun: First Dance on the glamorous LED dance floor…

… and a wild dance party for everyone with music by DJ Paul Goyena. And then, of course – a photo booth from Night Owl Photobooth, a true crowd magnet! The bride found the time to change yet again – this time into an eggplant-colored short cocktail dress in which she was dancing the night away. Don’t you agree – this was the party of the decade!

Many happy decades together to Chiew and Justin! And many more epic parties…

Let us create YOUR unique wedding celebration, too!

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