Growing up I always wanted to get married in Qipao, but I never had the vision of what I saw as my perfect wedding dress. I knew from a young age that when I eventually got married, I wanted to embrace my Chinese heritage and celebrate the part of me that was always so close yet felt so far away.
Growing up as a Chinese adoptee in a white American family, I always felt that my own self was something hard to encapsulate as a whole. Growing up Jewish on top of that left me with many more feelings of not knowing how the pieces of me could be seen by others, when I was so much deeper than what you see on the surface. Being someone who was undeniably Chinese, but never grew up immersed in the culture, I never felt validated and others often invalidated my identity.
I contacted grace after research into so many local places in LA, knowing I wanted qipao, but also knowing I wanted to be seen when I got married. Her story and her art really touched me like nothing else.
Grace was so incredible and I felt the connection immediately. As a designer and just as a person, her work and her story resonated with me and I knew she was the only person who could make me feel seen the way I always wanted to be on my big day.
Grace worked closely with me during a time I was experiencing personal loss in my family. I wanted more than ever for people to know me, and I wished to hold the things that mattered to me close as I stepped into the next chapter of my life. There were many tears and many emotions through the process of sharing my dreams for this dress. So much love and acceptance accompanied my journey.
From the pomegranates that reflected my Jewish upbringing while also reflecting strong abundance in Chinese symbolism, to the grapevines sweetly connecting me once again to myself and my recently departed grandfather, every symbol was meaning. Silk the color of red wine, embraced the life I've come from and celebrates the ones I cherish deeply. Peony as well, the king of flowers, is my favorite flower as well as the favorite of my husband's late mother. Every symbol turned to love in the form of art, perfectly made for me.
Now, a wedding dress wasn't just a fancy dress for a single occasion, it became a piece of art crafted lovingly for me, and a way for me to feel more complete.
The experience of collaborating with Grace on this wedding dress was so healing for me, and truly made me feel whole.
I cannot thank her enough for what she has blessed me with, it is truly an art like no other. read more