Today’s French chateau wedding with a Chinese tea ceremony hits us right in the feels. With brilliant, opulent details swimming in a sea of red, gold and dreamy French blue, you can’t help but swoon over every single image from Elizaveta Photography. This story is a testament to the many possibilities that exist for honoring your cultural heritage while simultaneously highlighting the destination where you wed. It’s thanks to Romance Wedding Paris that we’re able to see this seamless blend in action! Bold blooms in an elegant gradient of red to pink crescendoed in beautiful waves along the chateau’s most prominent architectural details, while hand-painted blue and white ginger jars let those destined for a seat at the table shine in the most beautiful light possible. We feel beyond fortunate to share this stunning French chateau wedding story with you today!
From the Photographer, Elizaveta Photography: An international team came together to harmoniously blend two cultures for this wedding editorial in the French countryside. Elisa, of Romance Wedding Paris, wanted to inspire couples who wish to honor their Chinese traditions while incorporating romantic French elements and design. Having been born in France to Chinese parents, Elisa had a solid vision of how these two worlds could be seamlessly joined together.
Taking place at the beautiful Chateau de Santeny, the editorial was captured by Elizaveta Photography with video by Oryx Paris Videographer. The bride and groom, Lina and Julien, are a real engaged couple, who wore a flowing Justin Alexander gown and Bella Belle shoes.
Kassaundra Stephens created a soft beauty look for the reception, with gentle waves and natural makeup that accentuated Lina’s eyes.
The Decor
Elisa chose a color palette of blue, white, gold and shades of red for the decor, as red is an important color in Chinese weddings, symbolizing happiness, luck and prosperity. It was counterbalanced by blue and white echoed in the porcelaine pieces throughout the editorial. The French-style reception included softer shades of the colour palette, while the Chinese tea ceremony leaned more towards vivid tones.
Chinese traditions were honored even in the smallest details, including the number of chairs at the table and number of gold bangles, as eight is an auspicious number, as well as included a table with rounded edges (a must in Feng Shui).
The beautiful cake and sugar cookies by Céline of Persinette Cake Design picked up on the red, blue and white color palette and even incorporated the porcelaine design and double happiness symbol in the cake.
Chinese Tea Ceremony
The tea ceremony is a symbolic rite of passage to honor the couple’s elders and receive their blessing for the mariage. The couple serves tea to the parents and in return the parents offer them a red envelope with a symbolic amount of money and gold bangles to wish them prosperity.
See Also
The bride wore a traditional Qun Kwa wedding gown from East Meets Dress, depicting a, who are seen as complementary elements to bring a happy marriage. The groom wore a suit from Rives Paris with custom shoes from Maison Felger. Kassaundra Stephens chose a sleek hairstyle to show off the traditional Chinese headpiece, with a pop of red on the lips.
The bride then changed into a modern version of a Qipao dress to dance the night away under the sweet melodies of professional violinist, Rafael Carmo. The couple finished the evening by releasing a lantern into the stars to start their new life together.
Around the office, we’re passing out praise like Oprah for this French chateau wedding with an equally meaningful + beautiful Chinese tea ceremony. And we know if you were here with us, you’d be chiming in too! From the auspicious colors + motifs represented throughout to the intentionality behind details as small as the table shape + chair number, it doesn’t get more inspiring than this!
Now, as we adore Asian wedding traditions, it seems only fitting that we give some shoutouts to some of our other past favorites as well! Namely, this real wedding inspired by the Lunar New Year and this more modern take on a traditional tea ceremony. Enjoy!
Wedding Vendors:
Planning & Design: Romance Wedding Paris
Venue: Château de Santeny
Photography: Elizaveta Photography
Videography: Oryx Paris
Make-Up & Hair: Kassaundra Stephens
Floral Design: Atelier Mimoza
Cake Design: Persinette
Stationery: Lettering by Grg
Violonist: Rafael Carmo
Bridal Gown: Justin Alexander
Bridal boutique: Metal Flaque
Chinese Traditional Dress: East Meets Dress
Bride’s Shoes: Bella Belle
Headpieces & Jewelry: Lindsay Marie Design
Groom’s Suit: Rives Paris
Groom’s Shoes: Maison Felger
Rentals: Vaisselle Vintage & Maison Options
Candles: Bougies Granulées
