This luxe Mallorcan wedding featured a special celebrity performance...

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 30

I’m about to lift your Monday spirits: it’s time we jet to Mallorca as virtual guests of this lavish, wonderful, beautiful, fairytale wedding.

And I don’t mean it was a fairytale for just the bride and groom, no. If you were one of the 175 guests to experience this epic & perfectly planned Mediterranean extravaganza you would be sure you were living amongst modern wedding royalty.

Where do we start, really? For one, the venue: a 232-acre Spanish fort with a ceremony aisle through shimmering pools leading to three arches that viewed to the Mediterranean Sea. There was also the fashion, bride Ying’s ensemble included not one, but two stunning custom Galia Lahav gowns. One of which was chosen by the groom, the other featuring a ten-foot-long train – how regal?!

And to help aid in the guests’ experience, the five day Western & Chinese celebration included special celebrity guests making live performances (one special one during their first dance!)

You’ll just have to see the rest of the magic for yourself…

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 6

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 11

Photo by Eric Kelly via Bridal Musings

The Proposal

He proposed romantically on Christmas Day in the Maldives at the amazing Soneva Jani. He took me out on a boat to a private island where it was just the two of us eating dinner.

As the sun was setting, he showed me a large wooden treasure chest that he had buried in the sand beforehand, filled with many awesome gifts. At the bottom were matching “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” that said “Hubby” and “Wifey”. “What do you mean wifey?” I said, and right then, he got down on one knee and proposed with a beautiful ring!

We took a few days to enjoy our romantic time together and then flew off to Taipei where he had coordinated all of my friends coming in to celebrate. We had so much fun!

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Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 15

The Dresses

I knew if I ever got married, I wanted to be married in a Galia Lahav dress. I first went to Kinsley James in Walnut Creek for the Galia Lahav Trunk Show. Since they were only featuring the latest designs, I tried on a few GL dresses and was in love with the Ms. Elle dress. I asked to customize a dress and took parts of three different dresses and added them together. I also added a 10-foot train to extend the existing train. Galia approved the design and I was in love when I had my first fitting.

Fun story about my second wedding dress, which was also a Galia Lahav. After ordering my dress with Kinsley James, I was in LA with my husband and we noticed there was a GL store. We called for an appointment to see if there are any reception dress that I can order. My husband, being “Groomzilla”, was very bummed that he could not pick my wedding dress. So I told him he can pick my reception dress.

He didn’t pick Ms. Elle. He picked Gia. But he wanted a very big Gia. So we customized the second dress and made sure it arrived at the same time as my ceremony dress.

Never in my wildest dream, did I think I would end up with two custom Galia Lahav dresses.

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Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 20

Photo bylink text via Bridal Musings

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 19

The Venue

We chose La Fortaleza in Mallorca to be our wedding venue. We fell in love with both the island of Mallorca and La Fortaleza the moment we saw them, as we had never been to either before the venue shopping! Mallorca has stunning beauty, amazing weather, friendly people, tons of culture, and is one of those places that was on all of our friends’ bucket lists but almost none of them had been there

And La Fortaleza is hands-down one of the most beautiful venues on the entire planet. It is a stunning 232-acre Spanish fort built in 1628 on the northeastern coast of Mallorca with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean that makes you feel like you’re in paradise. We knew right away that the “arches” (50 foot old-world stone arches in an amphitheater layout) would make the perfect spot for a breathtaking wedding ceremony.

Fun fact: the BBC show The Night Manager was filmed here and notable 2019 weddings here included pro athletes Rafael Nadal and Gareth Bale.

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The Celebrations

The celebration spanned 5 days across 4 different venues with a different theme every day. The two main celebrations were our opening night “Chinese Tea Ceremony” and our wedding night “Black Tie Rave”.

To kick off the week, everyone wore red traditional Chinese garb in honor of my Chinese heritage for a beautiful dinner and private party with Lil Jon performing.

For the main event, we combined elegant black tie for the ceremonies and dinner with our own mini dance music festival with 3 of the world’s top DJs (Bassjackers, MarLo, Felix Da Housecat), 5,000+ pieces of neon rave gear, fireworks, CO2 cannons, and so much more. It was an epic 4 pm-8 am party that our guests are still talking about!

The other days also featured boat and pool parties for all of the guests to relax and let loose on and off the Balearic coast.

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Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 4

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 12

Favorite Moments

I will never forget the moment I walked down the aisle and I saw Matt’s face. I was already nervous and excited to start the ceremony. I already got emotional when I saw my dad’s little face and how proud he is to be part of our day. He was so happy to walk me down and was so grateful for this wonderful day to arrive.

I had already calmed my nerves, re-powdered my face and was ready to walk down the aisle. Right when I looked up from my first step down the aisle, I saw Matt’s tearing face. He was crying! I was thinking to myself “Oh no! Honey! You’re supposed to be the strong one!” Of course, I started crying cause I never saw him so happy and so handsome. He’s such a strong man and I had never seen him cry before. We both were overwhelmed with joy that we didn’t even know how to react!

As my father handed me over to Matt, Matt looked at me and said “You look amazing” I started crying again. Haha! That’s my unforgettable moment. The moment I’ve been waiting for my entire life, to find my soulmate and to find someone so in sync with me in every way. All those years of wishing and waiting for my perfect partner has finally arrived. So when I saw Matt crying, it reminded me why I picked this man. He is absolutely my better half. I’m finally whole!

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 23

Photo by Eric Kelly via Bridal Musings

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 28

Photo bylink text via Bridal Musings

“We got 175 of our closest friends and family to fly so far and take a whole week out of their busy schedules for us. So it was important to us that we gave them a once-in-a-lifetime experience they will never forget in return as a way to say thank you for all their love.”

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The First Dance

We challenged each other to think of the perfect song that was both nostalgic and made us think about love. We both blurted out at the very same time: “Back At One – Brian McKnight” and that was it. We were fortunate enough to have Brian fly to Mallorca and sing this (and some other favorites of his) for us live as our first dance. He was so great and it was such a special, memorable, romantic moment!

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 22

Photo bylink text via Bridal Musings

Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 5

Photo by Eric Kelly via Bridal Musings

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The Planning

Also, I love to give credit to my “Groomzilla” hubby. He is very decisive and very particular of what he wants. He’s very clear with communicating and very organized. You should see the crazy spreadsheet he has for our wedding planning. Our wedding planner, Mandy from Alago Events, was very impressed with him.

Probably the most fun on my end was choosing the flowers and decor for the main ceremony. The mirrored walkway and beautiful flowers covering the arches vertically created the most beautiful scene. It was overwhelming and emotional to see for the first time in the moment!

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We only drink champagne, tequila, and whiskey so those were the only drinks at the wedding. 1300 bottles! Very important.

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Lavish and Luxurious Mallorca Destination Wedding – Eric Kelley Photography – Galia Lahav 8

Advice to Other Couples

To my future brides! Don’t try to please everyone. Remember this is your day. I know we want to make everyone happy but you simply can’t. The people who love you the most, will be happy to be part of your day no matter what and will give you the least drama.

When selecting bridesmaids, pick those who are active in your life today. These are the folks who have been calling you and are current in your life. It’s not your bestie from 8th grade who you have not seen or heard from for 20 years.

When inviting guests, ask yourself: “When was the last time I spoke to this person?” Lots of people invite those they feel like they “have” to for work reasons or for making up for feeling bad for falling out of touch. Again, this is your day, there is nothing you “have” to do. Invite who will make you happy and surround you with nothing but love.

When you shop for a wedding dress: doll up! Put on some makeup and do your hair before you go dress shopping. That way you can get the full visual when you put on each dress.