Laurel and Mike’s Wulingyuan wedding wasn’t just a celebration—it was a stunning tribute to Chinese heritage and the special memories tied to the location. For Laurel, this place held deep personal meaning, as it was where her grandmother used to take her as a child. Although her grandmother passed away when she was young, Laurel found a beautiful way to honor her memory on their wedding day. The couple masterfully blended heartfelt traditions with their modern love story, creating an unforgettable celebration that perfectly wove together their roots and shared future.
Wulingyuan, a UNESCO World Heritage site, set a breathtaking backdrop for their vows, with its stunning quartz-sandstone spires towering above. Mismatched white garden gates adorned with flowers and lush foliage added a whimsical garden theme to the celebration. Their hotel reception continued this enchanting vibe, featuring tables overflowing with blooms and cascading greenery from above. A highlight of the evening was the rave cave—a unique stalagmite cave that housed the hotel’s restaurant—where they brought in a local DJ from the San Francisco Bay Area to keep the energy alive all night long.
If the vibe was off the charts, the fashion was even more spectacular. The bride stunned in a striking red gown for the ceremony and later changed into a chic white strapless dress for the reception. With the help of their talented vendor team, they brought their vision to life and executed it flawlessly. To see how this couple infused their big day with their unique styles while honoring tradition, scroll through these beautiful images captured by Junebug vendor Katherine Elyse.
The Couple:
Laurel and Mike
The Wedding:
Wulingyuan, Hunan Province, China
Embracing Culture Through Fun Challenges for the Groom
The most memorable part of the day was the door games. In Chinese culture, these games are like a playful “hazing ritual” where the groom has to prove himself through various challenges to be accepted by the bride’s community. Traditionally, this happens as a parade to the bride’s family home, but we wanted to share the experience with our friends who traveled worldwide, so we held it on stage. Each bridesmaid presented a challenge to the groom and his groomsmen, ranging from “Can you handle sweet, sour, salty, and spicy foods?” to “Let’s wax your legs!” The games ended with an exciting tug-of-war and arm wrestling match featuring some of my strongest aerial dance friends.
Choosing a Meaningful Location to Honor Family Heritage For Their WulingYuan Wedding
We chose this location because it holds special meaning to me—it’s where my grandmother used to take me when I was a child. Sadly, she passed away when I was young, but I wanted to honor her memory. The overall design was meant to celebrate the unity of Chinese and American cultures. Since Wulingyuan is a UNESCO World Heritage site, we followed certain guidelines to respect the environment. We sourced everything locally, from agricultural towns, and only used food vendors from the area—nothing from big cities. We embraced a “leave no trace” mindset, avoiding items like balloons or plastic plates and only choosing things that could be composted or reused. Even the flowers were picked from nearby, and our chosen colors blended perfectly with the natural scenery. In Chinese culture, we created an idiom for our wedding: 龙蛇金约, which means “from dragon to snake, from San Francisco to New York.” Mike was born in the year of the dragon, and I’m the year of the snake. My family immigrated from Mainland China to San Francisco, and his family is from New York.
The Importance of Hiring a Wedding Planner and Day of Coordinator
There were only three things that truly mattered to me at the wedding: the food, photography, and music. My mother, who’s big on events, handled most of the aesthetic details. If there’s one thing worth investing in, it’s a day-of wedding coordinator and planner. I had a wedding planner, but without a day-of coordinator, my family and bridesmaids had to manage what they could. Since the staff didn’t speak English, I ended up handling a lot myself. Despite these small issues, they didn’t take away from the things that really mattered to me. I just wish I could’ve enjoyed the day more instead of focusing on organizing everything.
A Culinary Journey from Grandma’s Kitchen to their WulingYuan Wedding Table
I wanted to share the local food I grew up on, the kind my grandmother used to cook for me as a way of showing love. I didn’t want fancy dishes like lobster or sushi. Instead, I wanted sticky rice shiitake mushroom shaomai, tang you ba ba (sweet gluten balls), all kinds of noodles, and more. The locals thought I was crazy for choosing street food over something extravagant, and I had to fight for it several times because I really wanted to support the street vendors. For me, sharing food is like sharing my culture, and watching our friends try new dishes they’d never experienced in their own countries made it all worthwhile. One of my favorite moments was seeing a good friend from New York City go back for three plates of tang you ba ba—she loved it so much it was all she ate the entire night!
Choosing Authenticity Over Tradition in Wedding Photography
I was familiar with the typical mainland Chinese photography style and knew I didn’t want to look like a made-up princess. Katherine Elyse, my photographer and dear friend, has an unmatched “naturalism” style that I absolutely love. I needed someone who could take away all the stress—whether it was about the location, posing, lighting, editing, or photo selection. These photos would be the ones I’d hang on my walls, share with my child, and look back on for years to come, so it was important to me that everything felt effortless and authentic.
Bringing the Party to Life With a Bay Area DJ in the Rave Cave
After the reception, we moved to a unique party spot we affectionately dubbed the “rave cave,” a stalagmite cave that housed the hotel’s restaurant. No rave cave would be complete without great music, so we flew in a local DJ from the San Francisco Bay Area to spin for us. The vibe was incredible, and the music added an unforgettable energy to the celebration.
Celebrating Community with Thoughtful Guest Gifts
Every guest received two thoughtful items: freshly made ginger candy—one original and one spicy—from a local candy maker and a travel tea set. It’s been my favorite thing to see how everyone is using the tea sets; some take them to work, some use them to infuse their sweet tea, and others even make their overnight oats with them. The candy was delicious, and many friends asked where they could buy more, but unfortunately, they couldn’t because a local street vendor made it.
Private Rooms for Couples to Connect During the WulingYuan Wedding Celebration
We set up “conceiving private rooms” right outside the rave cave to give our friends who were trying to conceive a private space to escape to on our wedding day. It was a thoughtful touch, and fun fact—two of our friends actually succeeded in conceiving.
The Wedding Team:
Photography – Katherine Elyse
Ceremony Venue – WulingYuan
Reception Venue – Harmona Resort & Spa
DJ – Daniel Imani
Rings – Gigi Gruber
Congratulations to Laurel and Mike on their WulingYuan wedding.Their special day showcases how a wedding can seamlessly blend traditions while remaining truly unique. A heartfelt thanks to Junebug vendor Katherine Elyse for beautifully capturing all the love, beauty, and magic from every angle. To see more of her talent and photography style, check out her profile in our curated directory of the world’s best wedding photographers.
The most memorable weddings are those filled with genuine details that reflect the couple’s journey and love story. Wondering how to add these personal touches to your big day? Our guide has all the inspiration you need to create a truly unique and unforgettable celebration.
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