Multicultural Wedding Weekend with Lion Dance & Chinese Tea Ceremony
Photography by By Tom WrightAs a multicultural and interfaith couple, we had a unique challenge of trying to honour our different cultural and religious backgrounds. After a lot of trade-offs and compromises, we settled on having a wedding weekend, with 3 intimate ceremonies (civil, Islamic, and Chinese) on the first day, and then a bigger reception on the next.
Chloe & Haris
Saturday: Day One
The weekend kicked off with a triple-whammy ceremony day: civil, Islamic, and Chinese. Think small, intimate, and packed with emotion. Chloe wore her mum’s cheongsam for the tea ceremony, re-tailored and embroidered onto a chic new Safiyaa silhouette.
Red and green, auspicious colours across Chinese, Pakistani, and Islamic cultures, set the tone for the weekend, accented with ivory-white for a subtle nod to the Italian flag. The florists went full global, including flowers native to the respective countries, delicately curated into stunning arrangements.
Harpist Noa Davies performed a soul-stirring medley, sliding effortlessly from the Chinese classic The Moon Represents My Heart to Frank Ocean's Pink & White. Just when guests thought they were out of tears, Chloe hit them with a surprise in her bridal speech with an a capella performance of the Pakistani love poem Aaj Jane Ki Zid Na Karo.
And of course, the ceremonies were beautifully captured by Tom Wright, Haris’ mentor and go-to for any photographer seeking both a lens and life wisdom.
Sunday: Day Two
The next day, guests were treated to a dramatic grand entrance with drums pounding and colour flying. The lion dance became the centrepiece of their painted wedding portrait by illustrator Aaron, whose live guest portraits were also a massive hit. Because if your wedding doesn't include a bespoke art station, did you even get married?
Entertainment-wise, Chloe & Haris raised the bar with a custom edition of comedian Eshaan Akbar’s PHUB (Punjabi-Hindi-Urdu-Bengali) Quiz. Guests battled it out over questions about their cultures, their relationships, and which guests were friends versus family. It was a great way to get people talking!
Chloe & Haris championed low or non-alcoholic drinks to keep things inclusive. Pro tip from the bride herself: people will remember your food more than your fizz. And speaking of wedding wisdom, Chloe also designed all the stationery herself!
And then there was Haris’ speech, which delivered a heartfelt thank you in Cantonese to Chloe’s parents, that he practised for months. Thankfully, he nailed the tones... Let’s just say there’s a big difference between “take care of your daughter” and “play with your daughter,” and tone matters in Cantonese.
As someone who has been on both sides of the industry now as a supplier and a customer: especially in this economy, weddings ARE a luxury and an investment. But if you look hard enough and ask around your peers, there are suppliers all at different price points and experience levels. Find the ones that are the right personal fit for you and your priorities. Be very clear with each other and your families what are the must-haves, nice-to-haves, and should-not-haves. Also consider DIY'ing certain aspects to save budget! (e.g. my favourite 'wedding cake' by far was one of our couples getting a bunch of Colin Caterpillars representing the couple, their babies, and their guests)
Chloe & Haris
