A Fun, Garden Wedding in Grand Rapids - The Wedding of Olivia and Davy Chinn

Olivia and Davy met on Tinder. Olivia jokes, “I created a Tinder profile as a joke with my friends. But then, Davy and I matched!” It was not until a month later that they went on their first date. Olivia adds, “Our first date was dinner at Parsley’s and a stroll through the Grand Rapids Art Museum. The rest is history.”
 

Davy planned a special proposal for Olivia at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. Davy had actually gotten Olivia an annual pass to the Meijer Gardens, so when he visited for the weekend the couple went there for a stroll. Olivia says, “I was staring off to my left, admiring the nature when Davy said ‘So, I have a question for you.’ Thinking he was about to say something silly, I responded with an internal eye roll and a ‘What kind of question?’. He responded, ‘Um, a yes or no question.’ I immediately turned to my right and found Davy down on one knee holding a ring box. He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Would you like to marry me?”’ After freaking out for a second and not believing what was happening - Olivia responded with a  definite “yes!”.

When the wedding planning started, Olivia relied on her mother. “My mother helped a lot, she is very organized and proactive and she really made it all work,” she says. The couple started by booking their venue, which was the Frederik Meijer Gardens. Olivia adds, “The Gardens had a list of preferred catering vendors, one of which is their very own Taste of the Gardens.” After a food tasting, they checked off another vendor and the wedding planning was well under way.

The couple was also ecstatic about their photographer, Chrystin Melanie Photography. Olivia says, “She and her second shooter, Dustin Valkema were so fun to work with. Chrissy really understood what our wedding day was about and we felt like we could be ourselves around her and the camera. She made it fun and easy. Highly recommend. Chrissy is also on the preferred vendor list at Frederik Meijer Gardens."

Olivia had a bit of a hard time finding her dress. After trying on over fifteen dresses and not finding anything she liked, she then ordered a dress that she just felt alright with. Only when it arrived, it was too small even though it was made to custom measurements. Luckily, she and her mom started the search all over and went to Renee Austin in Grand Rapids. Olivia says, “After trying on a few more dresses she pulled a floor model that they had just gotten in and it fit like a glove, It was way more my style and I felt like myself in it.”

What we love

We love that Olivia and Davy included some Star Wars elements within their wedding. Olivia says, “Although Davy and I are not extreme Star Wars nerds, we both decided to play up the whole 'wedding on Star Wars day' thing. We had our amazing pianist, Dr. Daniel Lin, play the Star Wars main theme as our recessional. The groomsmen all wore Star Wars socks and our first dance went from slow and sweet to an all-out light saber fight, choreographed by Davy.”

Advice from the bride

Olivia says, “Booking the venue right away is a big help. They’re usually booked far out and the venue can really help set the scene and vibe for everything else.”

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