Stunning Chinese-American Wedding at Merrell Estate and Gardens in Indian Beach, NC | Kevin & Casey

I know I say this about all my weddings, but Kevin & Casey’s wedding is a GOOD one. Casey and I became inseparable almost immediately. Not only did we have to cut off our consultation call after over two hours because we got so carried away chatting, but we would continue to talk pretty much daily leading up to their big day. We share the same love for animals, wedding details, a good meme, and anything creative. So, between her planning this jaw-dropping event and the endless amount of animal memes circulating around the internet, it wasn’t hard to keep in touch!

Kevin & Casey live in Florida, and while we tried to plan an engagement session or even a coffee date around all of our crazy schedules and travels, we never actually got to meet prior to their wedding day. After almost two years of constant communication, we finally met!! It was one of those moments in a movie where we both just tackled each other with hugs, tears, and, of course, tons of squealing and yelling!!

Casey kept me in the loop throughout the whole planning process. It was such a fun perspective to watch it all come together, starting with the flat lay & bridal details. Their invite suite had a perfect mix of coastal blues and Chinese symbolism through chinoiserie designs and custom wax seals featuring a shuangxi symbol. The shuangxi is a traditional Chinese decoration/symbol of marriage meaning “double happiness” and was also featured on their ceremony arch! Casey and Kevin are total hosts in every way, shape, and form. For their place cards, they used cutouts of every guest’s Chinese zodiac animal! It was such a fun, personal, and unique touch, so I had fun including them in some of the flat lays.

We took Casey’s getting ready and bridal portraits at their family friend’s stunning waterfront home featuring a nearly 300-yard-long dock. Casey and her dad shared a first look where she gifted him a tie with photos of them attached to the back. I have been seeing these ties get so popular lately, and they get the waterworks going every time. Neal and I headed to the venue to spend some time with Kevin before Casey arrived for their first look. Kevin wore a custom traditional Chinese tang suit from East Meets Dress. I loved the mix of his blue jacket and black pants combined with the groomsmen’s tuxedos that also featured blue jackets with black trim and pants. The bridesmaid’s champagne dresses from Birdy Grey brought that perfect touch of color that kept their palette looking elegant, balanced, and traditional.

After their first look, we snuck down to the venue’s dock for some waterside portraits before it started raining. (Fun fact: rain is good luck on your wedding day!) While we waited for the rain to pass, Kevin & Casey enjoyed some downtime with their wedding party while we captured all the thoughtful details that went into their reception space. Merrell Estate’s stunning poolside reception space brings an airy coastal feel, and their decor featured Chinese influence through shuangxi symbols on their welcome sign and table chart, Chinese zodiac place cards custom to each guest, and chinoiserie jars and fabrics. When chatting with Casey about the reception details, she mentioned, “The chinoiserie jars and fabrics are traditionally a Chinese item that had already been adopted into southern suburban homes, so I was grateful that they really represented the whole concept very cohesively.” One of my favorite touches was the custom sign that pointed to all their important and sentimental locations around the world.

The evening was a beautiful celebration of their love filled with touching toasts, AMAZING line dancing from their whole friend group (seriously, I asked if they would take me out one day to learn; it looks SO fun), and a crazy storm that forced a DJ booth relocation to get away from the rain blowing in. The storms brought an intimate cozy feeling to the evening (it didn’t kill the party either!) They ended the night with a private last dance and a Chinese lantern exit!

Cheers to Kevin & Casey!! Love these two so stinkin much!!