Couples Tribute – Sara & Chez
When planning their fairy-tale wedding, Sara and Chez started with a vision statement of “Drum. Design. Fried Chicken.” And the rest as they say is history. 
Sara and Chez both love the outdoors and wanted a space that was beautiful yet close to New York City.
They immediately fell in love with Snug Harbor, it was the first venue they saw, and they knew Snug Harbor was the best fit for their wedding day.
A little fun fact about Sara and Chez? They share the same birthday and met through Sara’s sister.
It was very important to Sara and Chez to pay tribute to their family cultures on their wedding day. The couple honored Chez’s Chinese heritage by hosting their ceremony and cocktails in the Chinese Scholar Garden.
A traditional Tea Ceremony was presented in front of friends and family among the hand crafted Ghongshi scholar’s rocks, Koi-filled pond and magnificent rockery that resemble mountains that inspired the poetry and paintings of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist monks.
The tea ceremony is a significant way for the bride and groom to pay respect and show their gratitude towards their parents for all the years of nurturing and love. In turn, the family will express blessings for the newlyweds as they start their marriage as husband and wife. The tea ceremony also symbolizes that the bride and the groom officially part of a new, extended family. During the ceremony, the bride and groom will address the relatives with their new titles while serving them tea. It was a special moment for both families.
The highlight of their wedding was, without a doubt, the big surprise for their guests, a marching band! Chez’ friend and former students from the NY Crimson Kings Drum Fife and Bugle Corps where he teaches, and Sara volunteers, performed a special set in the Chinese Scholar Garden at the end of the cocktail hour while leading everyone into the tented pavilion.
Guests were encouraged to “march” their way into the reception.
Sara and Chez’ Bridal Party was filled with fun and lots of energy throughout the evening.
The couple used the Tented Pavilion to embrace Sara’s Miami/Cuban roots. As their guests entered the tent they were welcomed by a “wall of fame”. Sara and Chez took the time to put up pictures of themselves with all of their guests.
It was a touching gesture that shined a spotlight on just how important friends are family are to this dynamic couple. At the end of the evening guests took home their framed picture from the “wall of fame”.
Sarah and Chez crafted a very personal wedding day, incorporating many DIY elements. A warm, bright color palette tied everything together for a fun, festive evening. Sara’s Sister is a talented Event Planner that worked closely with the Celebrate team to plan and coordinate every detail.
Three of the couples friends who are designers and event professionals, helped assembled the centerpieces Sara and Chez designed using flowers bought from the flower district.
Talk about a talented Bride and Groom, Sara and Chez co-designed their wedding programs, illustrations, table settings, website, menu, signage and invitations. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the couple designed the bright red, hand cut paper flower wall artfully displayed behind their sweetheart table.
The flower wall was stunning along their photo booth back drop which was composed of hand cut paper leaves and took four people to assemble.
Chez’s talented cousin designed and baked their wedding cake; whichtook Three days to prepare and was thoroughly enjoyed by guests. The bride and Groom’s talented friends added to the day by crafting many of the bespoke touches featured in this blog such as the hand-sculpted porcelain wedding cake topper and giant paper mache’ dolls of them.
For favors, Sara and Chez had Krispy Kreme donuts for everyone to take home plus they could take home their framed picture from the wall of fame. After the wedding they mailed everyone printed photos from their awesome photo-booth.
The night ended with “Hora Loca” which translates to crazy hour; basically, a Latin dance party during the last hour of the reception.
Sara and Chez’ wedding was full of impeccable style, accented with charming details, and overflowing with the purest moments of love and memories from their relationship.
Congrats to Sara and Chez and a special thanks to their photographer Edward Chan for sharing these special photos with us.
Future Advice to Celebrate Snug Harbor Couples from Sara and Chez –
“Pick a venue that feels like the two of you.”
“Find vendors that really understand you. Austin Abbott our videographer, Edward Chan our photographer, and our DJ Bryan Kudlek, were phenomenal. They felt like our friends and it was never awkward to be around them on one of the most special days.”
Vendor Info
Bride’s Wedding Dress – Schone Bride http://www.schonebride.com/
Bridal Bouquets and Bouttenniers – Sprove https://www.yelp.com/biz/sprove-market-place-jersey-city
Cake – Erwin Tan (Family member)
DJ – DJ Excel Bryan Kudlek
Floral Centerpieces – Flowers purchased from the Flower District
Groom Suit – John Varvatos https://www.johnvarvatos.com/
Groomsmen Suits – Zara, Uniqlo, Converse, Tie Bar
Hair – Beyoutiful Bride http://beyoutifulbride.com/
Illustration & Graphic Design – Bride & Groom
Sara Juarez http://www.sarajuarez.com/
Chez Bryan Ong- https://chez.myportfolio.com/ http://spoonandforkstudio.com/
Invitation Printing – GotPrint http://www.gotprint.com/home.html
Make-Up – Maria Sirb
Newspaper Program Printing – Newspaper Club https://www.newspaperclub.com/
Photo – Edward Chan http://www.edwardchan.com/
Photobooth – Simplebooth https://www.simplebooth.com/
Rings – Macha Jewelry http://machajewelry.com/
Video– Austin Abbott https://vimeo.com/numerochair
Website and App– https://withjoy.com/