A Simple, Soulful Wedding at Té Company, a tearoom in NYC
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In this era of the coronation-style wedding, we invite you to take inspiration from a marriage party that is the opposite of a grand spectacle—but no less meaningful or joyous. The couple had their first date at Té Company, a Taiwanese tearoom in NYC’s West Village that is one of our favorite hidden places in the city: see The Loveliest Tearoom in New York. Candace Wang, the bride, recently came to Té’s owner, Elena Liao, with a a proposal that their wedding take place in the establishment. They had tiny budget (“under $2,000 for everything wedding related,” Candace tells us) and two weeks notice (“after two years together, when we decided to get married, we didn’t want to do a lot of planning and make everyone wait”). Elena, whose 300-square-foot space, is humming on afternoons and weekends, was willing to accommodate the event if it could take place during off-hours.
On a Wednesday morning in March, friends of the bride’s arrived with flowers, vases, and a crescent-shaped decoration: the hired florist had canceled, so this was an all-hands-on deck affair. Tables got moved around to create a postage-stamp size “stage” for the ceremony, and homemade bouquets were arrayed all around. The friends then scurried off to get changed and a few hours later the wedding party of a dozen, bride, groom, and officiant included, arrived for the noon event.
Photographs by Arin Sang Urai, unless noted.
Above Té Company is located on the first floor of a landmarked Greenwich Village brownstone at 163 West 10th Street Marked only by a gold teapot and a discreet sign on the door its known by word of mouth and a New Yorker rave review Photograph by Elena Liao<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 868 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above The bride greets the groom carrying a bouquet she made herself Her dress is from Reformation purchased off the rack no tailoring needed His suit was borrowed from a friendhe never wears suits Both work in marketing and were introduced in a client meeting She grew up in Nanjing in mainland China and hes from Taiwan he first came to the US to attend Syracuse University<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 872 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above Peonies tulips lilacs and thou The day before the wedding Candace and friends got up at 5 am to hit New Yorks flower market for retail shoppers she says its not cheaper but theres more variety and its very fresh On the morning of the event while Candace was having her hair and makeup done her friends were at Té Company arranging everything When they ran out of vases they put milk bottles to use The charmingly creased tablecloth is nothing more than a paper party cover Photograph by Elena Liao
Above Right after the flowers had been procured Candace realized they could use a backdrop we Googled the citys wedding companies until we found one willing to rent us something The crescent shaped prop came festooned with convincing looking faux hydrangeas that the group dressed up with fresh flowers and grasses Photograph by Elena LiaoAbove A friend officiated while the wedding party recorded the event for family and friends who couldnt be thereThe officiant Candace tells us received her approval from the city clerk the day before the wedding Her scarf was purchased on Amazonit was part of a ministers costumeAbove Té Company kept the tea flowing and served its signature snacks made by Elenas husband and business partner chef Frederico Ribeiro formerly of Per Se His traditional Taiwanese tea accompaniments are available for mail order and are exceptional along with Té Company teas theyre a go to Remodelista present for all occasions<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 875 class=ezoic adpicker ad>
“Nuts and seeds signify prosperity and lots of children,” says Elena of the Té Company’s Tiny Bars. The ticking tablecloth, a long-ago purchase from Williams Sonoma, hides a freezer underneath: “We drape it to create a podium and stand. When you only have 300 square feet, you have to make every centimeter count.” Photograph by Elena Liao.
Above For savory snacks there were mooncakes warm pastry buns filled in this case with spiced pork and scallions and Taiwanese tea eggs see the recipe on the Té Company blog Note the dried artichoke Elena uses them as natural decoration Photograph by Elena Liao<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 876 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above The wedding cake was a savory and sweet confection that came from Candaces favorite Asian fusion bakery the baker makes pastry and said he doesnt know how to do cakes so I suggested a pastry tower<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 877 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above A detail of the faux hydrangeas mixed with fresh stems For sourcing ideas see 10 Easy Pieces Eerily Lifelike Faux Plants for the Home<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 878 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above Yes there was Champagne and also tea for toasting We served Oriental Beauty known as Champagne oolong says ElenaThe wedding party came from New York and around the USweve been far from our homes for years so our friends are our family now says Candace Later in the day the group moved on to Flushing Queens for Chinese barbecue<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 879 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above No limo needed The newlyweds strut up Seventh Avenue<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 880 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding0text aligncenterimportant>
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