As soon as Mandy and Wilson set foot in Vancouver’s Hycroft Edwardian mansion they knew they had found the perfect venue for their summer wedding. The impressive grounds, including exquisite ornamental gardens, instantly captivated the duo, and the rest of their romantic wedding details quickly fell into place. “Hycroft definitely inspired our romantic and classic theme,” Mandy confirms. “To complement the venue I chose soft pastel shades like baby pink and pale purple—my favourite colour—for the invitations, the bridesmaid dresses, my bouquet and other decor elements.”
After choosing a location for their pastel summer wedding, Mandy turned her attention to finding the dress of her dreams. Funnily enough, it was far from love at first sight. “When we entered the boutique, my dress was on the mannequin, and I walked right past it. My friend urged me to try it on, but I wasn’t so sure.” After trying two other dresses, Mandy stepped into the third—the dress from the mannequin—and she knew it was the one. The tulle ballgown by Vera Wang was everything Mandy dreamed of for her pastel romantic wedding: “It was dreamy and airy—perfect for my outdoor wedding.”
The sun was shining brightly on the romantic wedding day and guests eagerly anticipated Mandy’s appearance. While she confesses to feeling nervous on her way down the aisle carrying her pastel bouquet, “I was just trying not to trip,” Mandy laughs, she’ll never forget the feeling of seeing Wilson for the first time: “I was walking with my dad, and everybody was standing, looking at me. I was looking at Wilson, and as I got closer I could see he had tears in his eyes. It was
a magical moment,” she reminisces.
To kick off the summer wedding celebration guests enjoyed light refreshments before heading to the romantic wedding reception venue. Mandy switched up her look for the party and donned a tea-length Romona Keveža dress. She also had one more outfit change in store—a fuchsia evening gown adorned with crystals. “In Chinese tradition it’s customary for the bride to wear red, so I chose this deep pink colour,” she shares. During a 10-course traditional Chinese dinner, Mandy and Wilson made their rounds, taking the time to toast with every single one of their 220 guests. The happy couple also showed their appreciation with a practical (and meaningful!) gift for their guests to take home after the romantic wedding: personalized chopsticks. “In the Chinese culture, chopsticks are something you use every day,” Mandy explains, “but they’re also symbolic because you can’t have just one. You always need a pair.”
Looking back now, Mandy wouldn’t change a single thing about her summer wedding. “Everything went according to schedule thanks to the help of our wonderful friends,” Mandy reflects. “The whole day was just so perfect.”
See all of the photos from this gorgeous pastel summer wedding here.
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- <strong>About the couple</strong><br />
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<strong>Bride:</strong> Mandy So<br />
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<strong>Groom:</strong> Wilson Kwong<br />
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<strong>How they met:</strong> "We met in high school," explains Mandy. <br />
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<strong>Engagement story:</strong> "Wilson was trying to plan for my 27th birthday. He thought it would be a great idea to give me a full day of surprises. Out he went to Home Depot to buy some wood to build three boxes for three different surprises. After a few late nights of cutting, assembling, and painting the boxes in my favorite color (purple), he filled the boxes with gifts and finished them off by locking each of them with a combination lock. He gave the boxes to me the day before my birthday, and told me to leave the boxes in the trunk of my car and bring them to work on my birthday. On my birthday morning, Wilson gave me the first combination code to unlock the first box, which had a Starbucks gift card inside, intended to start my day off at work with my favorite coffee. Around lunch time, Wilson called me at work to give me the combination to the second box. I brought the box into the cafeteria at work and unlocked the box. All I could find was a happy birthday card amongst the paper stuffing in the box. As I was searching the box inside and out, Wilson showed up at my work with a birthday cake! As the day went by, I was very anxious to know what was in third box. However, Wilson did not give me the last combination until the end of the night. I opened the box with the expectation of an engagement ring inside but fell to slight disappointment. Apparently, due to the unexpected difficulty in choosing the right diamond, Wilson had to change his plan last minute and substituted a Tiffany necklace," Mandy recalls. "While Wilson continued his search for the perfect bling, I had begun my wedding planning in search for the perfect wedding day photographer. Wilson then came up with the idea of creating a mock photographer website. In there, he gathered some random photos to pose as the portfolios of the photographer’s work. In the last special section of the website, he made an album of photos which contained all photos of us through the ten years of our relationship. On the night of April 18th, Wilson told me that he had found the perfect photographer and introduced me to the website. Little did I know that the site was created by Wilson! While I was browsing through the photos in the portfolio, I came across the special section and the photos of Wilson and I appeared in front of my eyes. Each photo had captions of how Wilson remembered the events. At this moment, Wilson took out the last purple box once again and handed it to me. I revealed a diamond ring upon opening, and Wilson got down on one knee and popped the big question -- And I said yes!"<br />
- pastel 1
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- <strong>Wedding date:</strong> July 10, 2011<br />
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<strong>Wedding theme:</strong> Romantic with pastel colours<br />
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<strong>Guests:</strong> 230<br />
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<strong>Budget:</strong> $40,000 <br />
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<strong>Best moment:</strong> "Walking down the aisle as a married couple while our guests showered us with flower petals," says Mandy.<br />
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<strong>Favourite detail:</strong> "Our wedding cake with damask pattern and Swarovski crystals, our guest sign-in poster with our wedding tree, bird cages card holders, my DIY wedding program which also served as a fan, and custom-made chopsticks as our wedding favours," explains Mandy.<br />
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<strong>Wedding song:</strong> "Charmed Life" by Joy Williams. "We love the tune of this song and we also chose this for our same day edit video," says Mandy. <br />
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<strong>Honeymoon:</strong> In the planning stages<br />
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- pastel 3
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- pastel 4
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- pastel 6
- https://weddingbells.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/06_mandywilson_WB2012-105x105.jpg
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- pastel 7
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- pastel 8
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- pastel 9
- https://weddingbells.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/09_mandywilson_WB2012-105x105.jpg
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- pastel 11
- https://weddingbells.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/11_mandywilson_WB2012-105x105.jpg
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- pastel 12
- https://weddingbells.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/12_mandywilson_WB2012-105x105.jpg
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- pastel 13
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- pastel 14
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