All photos courtesy RaysonWong Studio
Gala Award Recipient for Total Decor
A wedding theme inspired by literature is always a fun challenge, and in the case of Jinghong, this challenge was executed successfully.
Inspired by “Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River,” a classic Chinese poem that describes love in a way that is ethereal and heady, this wedding was designed with the couple and the poem’s imagery in mind. The team landed on a theme design of “finally walking hand in hand into the endless sunset,” mimicking a portion of the poem.
The team chose sunset colors of warm reds and oranges to set the scene, and they implemented a red ribbon sprawling across the aisles to represent a wandering dragon motif in the poem.
This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, however. The wedding had a limited budget, meaning the decor had to be simple yet effective. None of the pieces could be “moved” through multimedia or large electronically controlled mechanical devices. Instead, the team used a spiral curve structure with large lines stretching across both the ceremony hall and the dining space, creating the suggestion of movement.
An added challenge: in China, the decoration and setup of a wedding usually only takes place the day or even the night before, which means the team can't use too many technically complex mechanical devices or designs at the wedding site. The ribbon design had to be simple enough to set up quickly and easily.
Using professional 3D modeling software, the team designed the ribbon’s journey through the space. Bringing this model to life had its own challenges, of course, but they managed to connect the giant ribbons to each other from the entrance, making them float together into a sunset set on the main stage. Then, the team used a blower device to blow the streamers to make the ribbons flutter.
The team had one more obstacle with this design: the wedding was held in a church-like venue in Beijing, a Gothic spire structure with a height of about 23 meters—and no aerial structures or beams inside the building. With no point of reference from the ground to the air, most weddings held in this venue usually use simple decorations, with a background plus some channel decorations. However, the team managed to execute their ribbon structure with varying heights and bring an immersive element to the space.
This flowing sunset ribbon was built in three spaces: outside of the church venue, inside the ceremony hall, and in the dining venue for the reception. Overall, the ribbon tied the event together (no pun intended), and the couple’s story came to life alongside the poem’s imagery with personal touches woven throughout the design.
Overall, the dedicated team worked together to create this dreamy decor, and no doubt it was this teamwork that created the wedding’s design success—and won them the Gala Award for Total Decor.
Congratulations to Beijing Chaoran Yingfeng Consulting Co., Ltd for taking home the award for Total Decor!
To submit an entry to this year's Gala awards, please visit our awards portal.
Important Dates
- September 1, 2023-August 31, 2024 | Eligibility Period for Entries
- Sunday, September 15, 2024 | Regular submission deadline ($125 fee)
- Tuesday, September 30, 2024 | Late Bird submission deadline ($175 fee)
If you are interested in entering in the ACE awards instead, you can enter the Catersource 2025 ACE awards in the same online portal as the Gala awards. Catersource + The Special Event 2025 will run February 24-27 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Both the ACE and Gala awards will be presented during the conference at a to-be-determined location in Fort Lauderdale.
