The first thing guests were offered at Hana Lee and Ishan Chaudhary’s wedding in Seattle was not a programme, but a choice between ceremonial matcha and chai. Before the baraat, before the vows, before the Paebaek inside the greenhouse, the couple began with the simplest form of welcome they could imagine: something warm to hold, drawn from both sides of the family.
The couple, both professionals in the United States, grew up across Asia, Australia and North America. They met through mutual friends and bonded over music, restaurants and travel. After several years together, they marked their engagement by retracing the places that had become part of their relationship: their first stroll, first date spot and first bar hangout.
When they began planning, Lee and Chaudhary knew the wedding had to do three things well: make guests feel cared for, give the ceremonies real attention and end with a dancefloor full of joy. “Our must-haves were simple: a top-tier guest experience, meaningful cultural ceremonies, and, of course, an electric dance party,” they say. With planner Gen from Events by Genevieve, they spent ten months designing the celebration around those priorities.
After touring several local venues, the couple chose the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture. It gave them a flower garden, sunken courtyard, glasshouse, ceremony lawn and large indoor hall, which meant the wedding could move from ritual to dinner to dancing without asking guests to constantly reset.
