On a beautiful summer day in Auckland, Karen and Jay were married in elegant and modern style, incorporating treasured Chinese customs and a lot of fun for guests! Karen shares more from their day...

*Photos by* ***Kenny Chick Photography***

We went for a rather elegant, minimal and modern style with a fresh twist for our wedding day. Our main colour palette was white, beige and black with a little burst of colours – lime green and pastel purple for the florals.

Given our mix heritage (Jay being a 100% Kiwi while I’m a Malaysian Chinese), we had incorporated some Chinese wedding customs such as a Chinese tea ceremony to express gratitude, respect and appreciation to family members, especially our parents. We also had custom made cupcakes ornamented with “喜喜” or “double happiness”, which symbolises marital bliss as a wedding gift for our guests.

Jay and I both got ready separately in Jay’s family home, not seeing each other until our ceremony. We made sure to have food delivered with some light beers for the boys and Champagne for the girls – it’s important to plan for when you’ll get to eat on your wedding day! I did a gown reveal for my parents and my father walked me out to the bridal car, festooned with traditional Chinese accoutrements of our family fan and a red umbrella.

I’ve always wanted a fairly simple, classic yet elegant wedding gown. My gown from Kellylin ticked all the boxes with its timeless, fit-and-flare style and low back with V cut-outs at the side of the bodice. For my bridesmaids, we went with a dark emerald green midi dress to compliment the coastal view backdrop, while the groom and groomsmen wore a lighter grey colour, each with an emerald green pocket square (groom with salmon pink) to match the bridesmaids dress.

At Kauri Bay Boomrock the ceremony took place on the lawn area with a beautiful coastal panoramic view overlooking Hauraki Gulf as the backdrop, followed by popping Champagne and cocktail hour where canapes and drinks were served. We had some on-site games as well as extreme-hole-in-one golf to keep our guests entertained. We were so grateful it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day after months of rainfall.

Our favourite wedding detail was definitely our florals, from my bouquet to ceremony arch and reception arrangements. We asked for voluminous florals and it came down to hydrangea as the main flower - a safe bet as it is fairly easy to source.

We opted for a different approach for Bride and Groom games as we wanted something memorable for our guests. We created a multiple-choice quiz on “How well do you know Jay & Karen?” via an interactive live quiz app. The app is very user-friendly and handy as it shows the scores real-time. We had a blast that night and gave away prizes to winning guests!