Cassi and Roman’s Country Club wedding was a vibrant multicultural affair. Blending their Chinese and Ukranian heritages was top priority for this couple and helped create a celebration that was unique to them. Their love story began when Cassi was dabbling in real estate and Roman was looking for the perfect apartment. Messages back and forth to find the perfect place turned into hours long coffee dates. Cassi never did find Roman that apartment, but they did continue to talk and ended up falling in love.

They honored Roman’s Ukrainian roots by standing on a traditional embroidered cloth called a Rushnyk during the ceremony. It symbolizes happiness, as well as hope that the newlyweds will never face poverty or hard times. The ceremony was streamed live so that all of their family and friends across the world could join in. To add a touch of whimsy and fun, guests threw paper airplanes as the newlyweds walked back down the aisle.

At the reception, Cassi and Roman changed into classic Chinese clothing and invited close family to participate in the tea ceremony, a tradition about honoring parents for all the years of love and care. Additionally, the escort cards sat on top of origami cranes lovingly hand-folded by Cassi’s mom and her bridesmaids.

The sweet theme of family and heritage even continued in the wedding cakes! The main cake was from the same bakery Cassi’s parents had their wedding cake from over 30 years ago. They also had a Korovai, an elaborate Ukranian celebratory bread centerpiece. And of course, the night was ended with a yummy treat of bubble tea for all of the guests.

Cassi dabbled in real estate for a few years and was in the middle of helping a client find a roommate when she was contacted by Roman who was interested in the room. A few days later, Cassi and her client met with Roman to show him the apartment. Roman instantly thought the apartment was too small and asked Cassi for help in finding a larger one. Cassi agreed and was on the search. They both kept in contact and every so often Cassi would send Roman potential apartments but nothing sparked Roman’s interest. A few weeks went by and they scheduled more showings, still nothing. Afterwards Roman suggested grabbing a cup of coffee at Starbucks. An hour turned into 3 and they decided to have lunch then parted ways. Cassi never did find Roman that apartment but they did continue to talk and ended up falling in love.

Roman knew Cassi always wanted Kevin, a family friend, to make her engagement ring, but Kevin’s shop was located in New York City. It was the Holiday season and Roman’s sister and brother-in-law suggested that the 4 of them take a day trip to New York to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. Roman had mentioned that they could stop by Kevin’s shop so that he can meet him. When they arrived, introductions were made and Cassi caught up with Kevin and his wife Eva. The next stop was going to see the tree. With the snow lightly falling and the tree lit up, they started taking photos. Roman had asked Cassi to switch sides with him and as soon as she got into place, he pulled a black box out of his pocket and went down on one knee. A crowd had formed a circle around the pair and everyone cheered when she said YES! Little did Cassi know… The weekend before, Roman drove out to New York City to meet Kevin. They went over the final details of the ring, devised a plan and put everything in motion for the big day.

We knew we wanted an outdoor ceremony and was leaning towards a rustic romantic yet glamorous feel. We wanted to make sure that at the end of the day we were happy with our choices. We didn’t decided on anything based on trends or what someone else wanted. We just did us and it was amazing.

We both come from different cultures and we wanted to make sure that we incorporated that into the wedding. 

Saying “I Do” is at the top of our list!

Instead of doing a first look we decided to do a first touch. We were able to talk to each other and enjoy a moment alone before everything started.

During the reception we played the shoe game which everyone seemed to definitely enjoy. Watching that back on video to see what each other’s responses were was definitely a highlight.

When we were going through our photos after we got them back. We found a candid of Cassi’s dad sitting by himself outside in the ceremony area, eyes closed and soaking up the sun.

The invitation suite and paper decor was created by Cassi. Our escort cards sat on top of origami cranes folded by Cassi’s mom and the Maids of Honor. Roman constructed the photo booth backdrop and the ceremony arch. Floral arrangements were done by Roman’s mom.

Our wedding cake was from the same bakery Cassi’s parent’s got their wedding cake from over 30 years ago and to top it off the owner’s daughter was the one who helped design our cake.

While standing at the alter, we both stood on a traditional Ukrainian embroidered cloth called a Rushnyk. This cloth symbolizes happiness as well as hope that the newlyweds will never face poverty or hard times. 

During the reception, we both changed into traditional Chinese clothing and invited our close family to participate in a private tea ceremony. The meaning behind the ceremony is to show respect and gratitude for all the years of love and care.

No matter how much you try to plan every minute of the day, it will not go as according to plan. As hard as it is don’t stress over every detail, people won’t notice. Most importantly, enjoy your day!