Karen and Corey were married on a warm summer day in June. The pair started off getting ready at an AirBnb in Anaheim, moved over to Huntington Central Park for first look and family portraits, and then headed to their ceremony at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fountain Valley. Finally, a wedding reception at Venue By Three Petals created a brilliant finish to an already stunning day.
For their first look, we enjoyed beautiful, sunny weather with flowers open and bees buzzing. Huntington Central Park created the perfect backdrop for portraits, with a variety of greenery and florals. We encountered a couple other groups taking photos, but the park was relatively uncrowded for a summer weekend.
Next, we headed to Holy Spirit Catholic Church for the ceremony. So many friends and family came, with some of them wearing beautiful traditional Vietnamese and Cambodian wear in stunning bright colors. The church’s skylight created a perfect, framed spotlight on Karen and Corey, and the pastors gave a heartfelt wedding mass in both English and Vietnamese. The church musicians were incredibly talented, and sang gorgeous traditional hymns and other Christian songs with an accompaniment on the piano.
Finally, we finished out the day with a lavish wedding reception at Venue by Three Petals in Huntington Beach. Karen wore three amazing dresses: a full length Eddy K Bridal ball gown from Kora Brides, a custom champagne and gold ao dai from Vietnam, and a cute short dress with white lace for the dance party portion of the reception.
There were SO MANY guests at the reception and it created such an energetic atmosphere! Everyone was dressed to the 9’s like they were attending a red carpet event, and they were super hyped for the bride and groom, breaking into a rousing cheer for the grand entrance and first dance. Karen and Corey performed a choreographed first dance with dramatic lifts and dips (to quote one of the bridesmaids – “bangers only!”).
After the first dance, we enjoyed emotional speeches from friends and family. One of the bridesmaids performed some of her and Karen’s favorite songs from growing up, and even re-wrote the lyrics to be about their friendship.
Dinner was absolutely INSANE with multiple courses of delicious Asian food: jellyfish salad, candy walnut shrimp, lobster with noodles, sweet and sour fish, and peking duck. Venue by Three Petals does not play around with their wedding catering! We also enjoyed desserts and snacks from Epic Baked Goods, including some scrumptious ube brownies, s’mores cookies, and savory pastries.
DJ Donovan Demerin kept the party going all night with a fantastic playlist of 2000s R&B and Hip-Hop jams! For a fun activity, he also brought guests up for an anniversary dance. Married couples took to the dance floor and then were slowly filtered out by how long they’d been together. The last couple had been married for 50 years, and gave Karen and Corey some sage advice.
Towards the end of the night, the bride and groom made their way around the venue for table visits. Some guests had a little bit of fun making the couple work for envelopes of money. Karen had to jump up to snatch envelopes, find where they were hidden on Corey with her teeth, and even guess whose butt was her husband’s from a lineup 😂
The night ended with a sparkler exit and dancing the night away!
Vendors:
Ceremony Venue: Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Venue By Three Petals
Planning/Coordination: A Touch of Lavender
Dress: Eddy K Bridal via Kora Brides
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Hair/Makeup: Trang Do
Florals: A Touch of Lavender
Cake: Grace & Honey Cakes
Desserts: Epic Baked Goods
Catering: Venue By Three Petals
DJ: Donovan Demerin
Photographer: Natalie Michelle Photo Co.
Videographer: Tolman Media
