Date: Jan. 30
Her story: Yuxuan Wang, 28, grew up in Beijing and is a student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her father, Dongxia Wang, lives in Baltimore County.
His story: Guanbo Bian, 31, grew up in Cangzhou, China. He is a student at Johns Hopkins pursuing a doctorate in engineering. His parents, Jing Zhang and Jiang Bian, live in China.
Their story: Yuxuan and Guanbo met on Dec. 27, 2012, on a BoltBus traveling from New York City to Baltimore.
Yuxuan was going home to Baltimore after visiting a friend. Guanbo was returning to Baltimore after touring New York City during his first winter in America. The first things Yuxuan noticed about Guanbo, who sat down next to her, were his over-sized backpack and Johns Hopkins cap.
There's some disagreement over who broke the silence. But they both said that their conversation about shared interests and adventures made the five-hour bus ride — in heavy traffic — seem short.
"I thought he was nerdy, but he looked adorable," Yuxuan recalled.
They live in Baltimore.
The proposal: The proposal took place in June, when Yuxuan and Guanbo were visiting family in China during their summer vacation.
"I just felt joy," she said.
The couple celebrated their engagement with a party for more than 80 friends and family members, which was hosted by Guanbo's parents in their hometown.
Venue: One hundred guests attended the wedding at Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. The couple wanted an intimate and simple but elegant wedding with a lunch reception.
Flowers and decor: The flowers were provided by Blue Vanda Designs, with lavender, soft blues, and silver as the main color scheme. Elizabeth Bailey Weddings planned the event.
Her dress: Yuxuan's dress for the ceremony was designed by Enzoani. Yuxuan picked it out at Francesca's Bridal during her first dress-shopping trip. The moment she saw the dress, she immediately knew it was the one.
"I felt like a bride in it," she said. "It just felt right."
For the reception, Yuxuan wore a classic bridal dress that was custom-made in Beijing.
Bridesmaids' dresses: The women wore dresses from the Dessy/After Six collection that were purchased at Bella Bridesmaids. The bridesmaids chose from a winter color palette of silver and gray.
Men's attire: Guanbo and the groomsmen wore navy tuxedos by Joseph Abboud from Men's Wearhouse. The groom wore a navy bowtie; the groomsmen wore ivory bowties.
Music: The music at the ceremony was provided by the Antares Musicians. Jason Burns seved as DJ for the reception.
Food and dessert: The food was provided by the Four Seasons. The meal consisted of jumbo lump Maryland crab cakes; braised boneless beef short ribs; and baked Anson Mills polenta. For dessert, the couple served a "Charm City Trio" featuring vanilla panna cotta, custard and a cream puff.
The wedding cake — with amaretto, raspberry, red velvet layers —was provided by SugarBakers, with a topper from Etsy featuring the couple's Chinese zodiac animals (mouse and rabbit).
Favors: Given the amount of dessert served with the meal, the couple decided to give their wedding cake as favors for the guests, with each piece packaged in silver boxes tied with striped blue forks.
Special touches: The bridesmaids followed the Chinese wedding tradition of playing "door games" with the groom before he is allowed to see the bride. The challenge for the groom was to do 37 sit-ups, one for each month the couple had known each other, while singing a Chinese pop song chosen by the bride and bridesmaids.
Guanbo and Yuxuan will go on their honeymoon during their summer vacation; they plan to travel to Asia or Europe.
