Brittany & Jonathan: chinese wedding with a modern twist 現代風格的中式婚禮

Photography: Eric Cheng
Reception & Tea Ceremony: Lobster Port • Makeup & Hair: Windy Chiu • Graphic Designer: Clare Nguyen • Videographer: Films by Jinbon
Florists: Infinitude Design Canada • Wedding Cake: Daan Go Cake Lab • Lion Dancers: Wushu Project • Hairpiece: Sarah Walsh Bridal
DJ: 3 Owls Entertainment • Photo Booth: PhotoboothTO • Dance Floor: Gervais Rentals • Bartender: MIX6IX Bartending Inc. • Planner: Rainbow Chan Weddings
As Featured in The Art of Celebration Annual Edition No.2

“The lion dance was the most memorable with one of our favourite EDM songs from the time that we met.”

— Brittany & Jonathan

Brittany and Jonathan met during their time at the University of Waterloo at the campus pub, called the Bombshelter Pub. They were attending "Bonus Bomber" or "Last Last Bomber" which was held during the first week of exams. Jonathan had impressed Brittany with his breakdancing skills, and Brittany gave Jonathan her number. After they went on a number of dates, they eventually officially became girlfriend and boyfriend.

Brittany and Jonathan both have family from Hong Kong, so incorporating their Chinese heritage into the wedding was important for them and their family. The couple were looking to have a traditional Chinese style banquet wedding, with a modern day clean and classy approach, and a twist of Western aesthetics combined.

Brittany and Jonathan leveraged a planner for venue options, including different Chinese restaurants and banquet halls. They landed on Lobster Port, a Chinese banquet restaurant with a higher end look because of its clean and modern interior design. Notably, they were the first couple to rent out the entire Lobster Port venue, and to introduce a distinctive table setting design—using a red under-table cloth topped with a white tablecloth. Lobster Port had amazing Chinese food and the couple was excited to select a multi-course meal for the event. The guests loved the food, and most importantly, the bride's father was happy. He loved Chinese food and a big part of selecting a Chinese restaurant was to have delicious and fresh food that would make him smile.

From there, selecting vendors using recommendations was straightforward. What the couple originally had in mind for a simple banquet event turned into an exciting celebration with fun additions like a photobooth, lion dancing, personalized video messages from guests, and a tea ceremony that was hosted in the restaurant prior to the reception.

The couple had a lot of friends that offered help and advice during the planning process. Their friend, Clare Nguyen, helped design the stationery, incorporating Chinese elements into the designs. The designs for their invites, table numbers, and menus incorporated the lucky red colour, paid homage to the Chinese zodiacs and the year of the rooster, the couple’s Chinese names in the invite, and Chinese characters for the table seating numbers. Other stationeries included personalized stickers of the couple’s dog, couple photos, and a special custom sticker with their wedding day and the logo of the Bombshelter Pub at the University of Waterloo where they first met.

Additionally, the red and gold flowers intertwined with lanterns and fans were also traditionally Chinese inspired, and the lush florals decorated both the seating for the tea ceremony, and framed the couple’s head table.

They held a Guo Dai Lei the weekend before, where Jonathan and his brother brought over gifts and a whole roasted pig. Brittany’s aunt hosted it at her home and the family had a great time. The couple, inspired by their Chinese friends and thinking it would be a fun event, performed the tea ceremony before the reception at the restaurant in their Chinese Kwa outfits. Brittany and Jonathan presented tea to both sides of the family and then they shared advice with the couple.

The couple had always loved lion dancing. They grew up spending Saturdays at Chinese school where they did Chinese dancing, and saw others perform kung fu and lion dancing. When they saw lion dancers at other weddings at the Lobster Port, they wanted to include the special performance for their own wedding as well but with a modern twist. The lions had LED lights and danced to a custom song they requested —"Reload" by Sebastian Ingrosso—a track that held special meaning for them because it was a song they frequently heard at the Bombshelter Pub.

As wedding favors, guests received customized chopsticks engraved with the couple’s names. The wedding cake featured custom-made figures of the couple and their beloved dog, Emmy. After the celebration, the festivities continued with a karaoke after-party at a nearby Chinese karaoke venue.

Brittany and Jonathan currently live in NYC together and have a dog named Emmy that they adopted in 2020. They look forward to more adventures together of travel, dog park dates, and growing together.

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