Some love stories begin with a spark. Theirs began with a gift exchange.
Serena and Li met in 2010, when Serena’s grandmother sponsored Li, then a high school student, to come to Canada. Their families became close, and at every birthday and holiday that followed, the parents settled on a simple system for exchanging gifts among the children: oldest paired with oldest, youngest with youngest, and, naturally, middle with middle. Serena and Li, both middle children, were paired together every time. It was a small detail, but it placed them side by side long before either of them understood what that would come to mean.
Romance did not arrive quickly. Li knew how he felt well before Serena did, and it took nearly a year of quiet persistence before she agreed to give dating a chance. What followed was a relationship built almost entirely across distance: different universities, different cities, and eventually different countries, as Li moved to China while Serena finished school in Canada. Nearly a decade passed between that first tentative yes and the day they stood together as husband and wife, but the years apart never pulled them off course. If anything, the distance became part of the story rather than an obstacle to it.
When Serena and Li began imagining their wedding, they turned the entire vision over to Liting Chan of Paradise Events Inc. Every decision, from the earliest sketches to the smallest table detail, carried her signature.
An Outdoor Vision, Realized
Serena had always pictured an outdoor wedding, and the search ended the moment she and Li toured Swaneset Bay Resort & Country Club. The approach alone set the tone: a road that follows the river with mountains rising in the distance, opening onto the golf course before disappearing beneath a canopy of trees. Living in British Columbia, Serena wanted a celebration that felt rooted in the landscape her home is known for, and the open grass field at Swaneset offered exactly that.
Chan translated that instinct into form. The ceremony arch, framed against the green expanse, was layered with white flowers and soft textures, deliberately understated so as not to compete with the view behind it. For Serena, the walk down that aisle became the most overwhelming moment of the entire day, watching Li waiting at the other end and understanding, in that instant, everything the years between them had led to.
A Twisted Palette
Chan built the design around white, gold, and fresh green, with layers of flowing white fabric and abundant florals that included calla lilies, white roses, baby’s breath, and dahlias. Serena and Li wanted a palette that was elegant without being precious, and Chan met that brief with a set of details entirely her own invention, from unexpected touches of fruit worked into the tablescapes to a favourite detail the couple still talks about: each guest’s place card resting on a fresh lime.
The reception carried that same sensibility throughout, its atmosphere as considered as its centrepieces. When last-minute changes inevitably arose, as they always do, Chan absorbed them without disruption, allowing the couple to stop worrying and start enjoying the day she had built for them.
Heritage, Honoured First
Before the ceremony, Serena and Li began their wedding day with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, held first at the bride’s family home and again at the groom’s. It was a deliberate choice. While the ceremony and reception leaned modern and Western, the tea ceremony gave the couple a quiet space to honour their heritage and, most importantly, their parents. The morning’s stillness became a counterweight to the celebration that followed.
That evening, the two families and travelling guests gathered for a welcome dinner at Lanxuan Restaurant in Richmond, where half the restaurant had been reserved and beautifully arranged for the occasion. Days earlier, Serena had celebrated with her bridal party at Carlino Restaurant & Lounge in downtown Vancouver, one of several gatherings that turned the wedding into a week of reunion rather than a single afternoon.
Vows, Gown, Dancing
Serena’s gown came from Max Marry Bridal Couture, while Li wore a custom-made suit for the ceremony. But the moment neither of them will forget arrived on the dance floor. For their first dance, Li sang Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You, the same song he had once performed for his audition at Berklee College of Music, years before either of them imagined a wedding day of their own. Partway through, their young son ran onto the floor to join them, an unplanned instant that folded their past, present, and the child yet to come into a single frame.
Later, that same sincerity gave way to mischief. Serena traded her gown for a short black dress and, despite being in her third trimester, joined her bridal party for a choreographed dance-off against the groomsmen, rehearsed in secret over a month of video calls. Li answered with a full rap performance, dressed as a One Piece character, calling out the bridal party with lines aimed at Serena’s own family. A custom cake from Momo Cake Studio anchored the dessert table, as playful in its detailing as the rest of the day.
An Unscripted Celebration
By the time the night wound down, nearly 150 guests had travelled from Toronto, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, England, and across China to be there. Live performances threaded through the evening, with artists from Li’s own circle taking turns singing and beatboxing, lending the reception a spontaneity that felt entirely personal.
One unplanned highlight came during Serena’s father’s speech, delivered in Chinese and translated live into English by the couple’s MC, a bilingual back-and-forth that gradually unravelled into good-natured confusion and had the entire room laughing. It was not scripted or polished, but it set the tone for everything that followed.
Serena and Li set out to build a day that reflected who they actually are, and in Liting Chan, they found someone who could translate that instinct into every layer of the celebration. Nearly a decade after two middle children were first paired together at a family gift exchange, the result was a day equal parts elegant and unguarded, held in the landscape they call home, surrounded by nearly everyone who mattered.
Production Credits:
Photography: Emily Li Photography
Videography: Wantong Studio
Planning: Paradise Events: Liting Chan, Tiffany Cheung
Floral Design: Paradise Events
Venue & Catering: Swaneset Bay Resort & Country Club
Production & Lighting: Charlie Fu Production
String Trio Orchestra: Musical Occasions
Makeup & Hair: Momo Liu Makeup Studio
Custom Cake: Momo Cake Studio
Author Profile
- Helen Siwak is the founder of EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing Inc and publisher of Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine and PORTFOLIOY.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine. She is a prolific content creator, consultant, and marketing and media strategist within the ecoluxury and luxury lifestyle niches. Helen is the west coast correspondent to Canada’s top-read business magazine Retail-Insider, holds a vast freelance portfolio, and is an EIC for Hire. Connect with her here: [email protected].
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