Mark & Emily | Ann Arbor Wedding | Michigan Wedding Photographer
I'm so excited to share this amazing wedding with you today. I'm almost giddy with excitement to share one of my favorite weddings of 2012. It is always such a pleasure to be a part of a wedding day steeped in ancient (Chinese and American) tradition and heartfelt family bonds. Mark and Emily met through their studies at University of Michigan. You might remember their fantastic engagement story.
Their wedding day was every bit as exquisite and meaningful as I thought it was going to be. Two cultures came together in honored tradition - many relatives arriving from as far as Hong Kong to celebrate this couple. The day started with Emily in a stunning typical Chinese dress ready for the Traditional Wedding Tea Ceremony. This tradition brings together bride and groom as one to serve a cup of tea to all of the elders in their respective families. In fact you'll even see in the third picture, part of the tradition is for the bridesmaids(or sisters) to go collect the groom. The groom then has to barter with the women to be able to see the bride. (there were smiles all around!) It is a sign of respect for the bride and groom to serve the elders, and even those not present on earth anymore are honored by the spouse drinking their cup of tea. It was beyond beautiful.
After the wedding tea we all headed to the Church, St Thomas in Ann Arbor where Emily changed into a stunning white gown. A highlight of the wedding included the most amazing choir I have EVER heard, thanks to the collective efforts of Emily's music professors and friends. After the ceremony on one of the most windy days of the year the bridal party and I went to campus for some fun photographs.
The reception was held at one of my favorite Ann Arbor spots, The Ann Arbor City Club. The club has so much great character and beautiful grounds. I'm already dubbing this reception the happiest group of people to be photographed of 2012. We were able to get so many wonderful shots of friends and family being together from so many reaches of the globe, it was fabulous.
Enjoy the images! ~Melanie
