Leanne & Arny’s colourful Chinese wedding in Newcastle

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I’ve known Leanne for a number of years as we used to work together, and I was absolutely thrilled when she got in touch to ask me to be her wedding photographer! She was marrying her lovely & funny fiancé Arnold (Arny), and planning a day full of colour and fun.

It was my first Chinese wedding and it was an amazing experience. Leanne had three dresses to wear throughout the day, which all came from their pre-wedding trip to Hong Kong!

The wedding ceremonies took place at The Vermont Hotel in Newcastle city centre, followed by a banquet at Sky Chinese Cuisine in Chinatown. I photographed this wedding with Chris as my second shooter as well and we had a fantastic time!

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At Chinese weddings, it is a tradition for the groom and his groomsmen to complete games and challenges before the groom is allowed to see the bride. The bridesmaid organise these games and believe me they didn’t make it easy for Arny & his groomsmen!

Wasabi roulette, flying bananas, balloon popping, a dance routine & putting their feet in ice cold buckets of water to collect chess pieces were all part of the fun. Obviously this was brilliant to photograph too.

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One of the groomsmen had to have his legs waxed by a bridesmaid…. which he did like an absolute trooper..

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After that, it was just the small task of negotiating a price with the bridesmaids before he was allowed to see Leanne….

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Luckily Arny pulled out some top negotiating skills and managed to secure his bride 😉 Then he read a declaration to her of how he would look after her in their marriage etc..it was so lovely!

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 Then it was time for the tea ceremony, which took place in the ballroom at the Vermont. This is a traditional part of a Chinese wedding and involves the couple serving tea to their parents and other family elders. Jewellery and lucky red envelopes are gifted to the couple

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After a little walk in the sunshine for some relaxed portraits… it was time for Leanne’s first dress change…

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Check out that train! Wowza!!!!

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Leanne just looked absolutely blumming amazing!!!! <3

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After some drinks and photographs at The Vermont Hotel, it was onwards to Sky Chinese Cuisine for a proper banquet!

Eleven courses of beautifully presented food, toasts, speeches and lots of giggles made it a brilliant night.

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Their amazing mini letters came from Coco Luminare.

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A big congratulations to Mr & Mrs Li on their marriage and a big thanks for having both me & Chris shoot your wedding day!

All photographs copyright Katie Byram Photography and must not be used without written permission.