Yale Sun & Ren Wang
Yale Sun and Ren Wang were in for a big surprise — or lots of little ones — at their May 27 wedding. Both Northwestern grads (they met when Wang sublet Sun’s Evanston apartment in 2010) and employees at Chicago-based Raise.com, Sun and Wang decided to head back to their native China to tie the knot. Planning from afar proved to be a challenge, so the couple turned over the reins to their families abroad — meaning the wedding-day details were a surprise even to the bride and groom. “There was no time for nervousness about the process,” laughs Sun.
Fortunately, their loved ones organized a perfect affair at the Sunshine Hotel in Sun’s hometown of Zhangjiajie. The couple packed their 10-day trip with activities, including hiking, boat tours and cultural customs like an all-day photo shoot where they donned four different outfits — one of which was traditional Chinese attire. “We thought it would be cheesy, but it ended up being really fun,” says Sun. Wang laughs, “That’s not how I normally look.”
On the big day, the traditional activities continued with a Chinese tea ceremony, where Wang received permission from Sun’s parents to take her hand in marriage. Despite all of the interesting new experiences, Sun says her favorite memory hailed from a Western tradition: “We didn’t have a dance portion to our reception — most Chinese weddings don’t — however, after the room started to clear out, we asked the DJ to put on some music and had our own ‘first dance.’”
Of course, Sun and Wang were especially grateful for all of their families’ hard work. “It’s hard to get everyone together because we’re in two different countries. This was a blessing to us,” says Sun.