Images by Lighting In Italy

Images by Lighting in Italy. Images by Lighting in Vogue. It was hard to choose which to tell you about first! We decided to tell you about them both!

The wedding of Andy Fang, the founder of DoorDash cofounder, and professional tennis player Carol Zhao, occurred in the hills of Florence. Her choice of designers from Schiaparelli and Khaite to McQueen and Elie Saab made this a Vogue wedding.

Her choice of wedding planners was very Vogue as well! Colin Cowie was in fine form for the wedding set at the gorgeous Belmond Villa San Michele hotel in Florence, with the monastery facade designed by Michelangelo as the backdrop.

Cowie and his team created a night-market atmosphere inspired by the couple’s Chinese heritage as part of the destination wedding in Florence.

Cowie transformed an old church, Chiesa di Santo Stefano al Ponte, into a bustling night market with food stalls, glowing red lanterns, photo moments, and carnival games.

Vogue writer Alexandra Macon writes, “Friday evening began with a tour of the Uffizi Galleries as Carol and Andy wanted to incorporate their appreciation for art and culture into their wedding weekend, especially given Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance.

“We felt this was a great opportunity to explore the city center and also allow everyone to appreciate Renaissance masterpieces with close company,” Carol says. Because red is auspicious and the traditional bridal color in Chinese culture, Carol chose a deconstructed red dress from Alexander McQueen for the gallery tour.

"We followed the tour with a Chinese-themed celebration at the Santo Stefano al Ponte church, just a short walking distance away in the heart of Florence,” the bride explains. “We wanted to create a night-market atmosphere reminiscent of the ones in Taipei, where Andy’s parents are from. Our wedding planners had the brilliant idea of creating a surprise for our guests. Once they were escorted into the cocktail space, a kabuki curtain hid the rest of the market, where there were bustling food stalls with glowing red lanterns and various carnival games.”

Following the ceremony, everyone transitioned to cocktail hour in the main cloister area of the hotel, where they were treated to a performance by the jazz ensemble. Shortly thereafter, guests were escorted to the reception area decorated in a deep, romantic red color, including plenty of roses.

Production & design: Colin Cowie Lifestyle | Photography: Jose  Villa | Décor Photography: Youri Claessens | Florals: Flowers Living | Lighting Design: Images by Lighting, Ray Thompson | Lighting Execution: JD Events | Audio: JD Events

Read the Vogue article here.