Bride says ‘no’ to convention, ‘yes’ to custom dress
Anya Lowe Chang’s destination wedding bucked tradition from the get-go.
Ernest Chang — a real estate agent and former CBS Radio morningshow producer better known to Hot 95.7 listeners as DJ Wu Chang — proposed at the busy Starbucks across from the Galleria. He asked a barista to write “Will you marry me?” on Anya’s paper coffee cup while they were celebrating her newly obtained real estate license; both now work for RE/MAX.
Houston was never really an option for the easygoing couple’s “I dos,” though. They originally wanted to wed on Turks and Caicos, but the Caribbean island was too expensive for all of their 50 guests to make the trek. Some of Anya’s family live in St. Lucia and others in Italy. Of her three brothers, the two eldest each have multiple children. Ernest, 37, has two children from a previous relationship, too. Finding an exotic yet affordable venue became her top priority.
She stumbled across Velas Vallarta, an allinclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, while scrolling through Instagram posts from people who had gotten married there.
“The most important part (of the search) was reading all of the negative reviews, so I found the place with the best negative reviews,” said Anya, who is 35.
Their wedding week- end would be her first trip to the Mexican beach town, but she already knew a traditional gown wouldn’t suit the setting.
“I’m not the person to have a big frou-frou wedding dress,” she said. “That’s just not me.”
Her fiancé inadvertently led his bride to the dress of her dreams. Over lunch with friends, including local designer Becky Hollands, he suggested that she create a custom look for Anya.
The aspiring couturier initially declined the offer. Her experience had been designing one-of-a-kind frocks for high-profile clients such as Rice University’s Y. Ping Sun and philanthropy grand dame Joanne King Herring — who are both sample size.
Anya is 5 foot 11 and curvaceous, with more inches of a Barbie-shaped silhouette. Eventually, the challenge won Hollands over.
“Everything that my mom and I saw in stores was really plain, overdramatic or something you’d seen a million times,” Anya said. “I was looking for something flowy on bottom and form-fitting on top that fell under the style of a formal dress, not so much a wedding dress.”
She found promising inspiration on Pinterest, which she showed Hollands, who brought in ideas of her own. They settled on an intricate white bodice with a champagne skirt and met for fittings over three months to discuss cut, fabric and flourishes. Anya had envisioned a gold beaded belt, though Hollands ultimately convinced her that rose gold made more of a statement.
“I feel like we created my own version of the dress,” Anya said. “It was Anya’s dress, rather than one from a store.”
Once their creation was almost complete, bride and designer hosted an unveiling party at Anya’s mother home. It was a hit, Anya said.
Her FunJet Vacations wedding coordinator, Katie Brierton, made sure the July wedding week- end went off without a hitch. Brierton worked with Velas Vallarta’s onsite contact to execute Anya’s vision.
“I wanted simple but tropical. Definitely not a beach wedding,” Anya said. “We were originally going to do our wedding at the hotel where we were staying, but the resort had a couple of other locations, including a private beach club next door.”
That’s where the Changs tied the knot, surrounded by Mexican tile, wrought iron and breathtaking views of the ocean. The groom’s daughter carried Anya’s bouquet; his son was the ringbearer.
Their seated Caribbean-style reception dinner — seafood and paella — was attended by Hollands, photographer Marco Torres and Ernest’s friend DJ Choppy, all of whom the couple flew out for the occasion. Motown and Top 40 hits topped their playlist.
Watching her father groove to Cherub’s “Doses and Mimosas” surrounded by their family and friends is one of Anya’s favorite memories of the night. That and her custom wedding gown, of course.
“It’s a process,” she said. “But no one else is going to have a dress like yours. All of the things I love are in it, and there’s nothing generic about it.”
The same could be said of her happily ever after.