A Korean drama-inspired winter wedding with vintage vibes in Winnipeg, Canada

Kimberly (she/her) and Jace (he/him) met while working at the same mall and bonded over their shared love of Korean dramas. Their vintage-inspired November wedding in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, included tributes to their favorite K-Drama shows and a nostalgic aesthetic that encapsulated their love for each other and their families.

The couple got ready separately and did a first look indoors, with candles adding to the natural light from the large windows of the industrial space. Jace and Kimberly included inspiration from their favorite K-Dramas to guide the attire, decor and details of their wedding day, including nods to their Korean culture and favorite character arcs. Kimberly is proudly ace, and she and Jace have always been passionate about queer rights, so they also showed their Pride with accessories. Jace wore a rainbow pin in place of a boutonnière, and Kimberly donned Pride socks and a jean jacket for part of the day.

The color scheme they chose is reminiscent of the K-Dramas they were inspired by, with dark green, mustard yellow, black and gold as the focal points for the elegant decor and apparel. For their wedding flowers, the couple selected a lush array of caramel roses with antique-looking carnations, eucalyptus, and greenery, complemented by ombre peach and orange roses, and tied together with green and rust satin sashes.

We caught up with Kimberly to hear about their love story.

Tell us your love story!

We worked in the same mall: I worked at Anthropologie, and Jace worked at Starbucks. For months, all I knew about Jace was that he was my favorite barista, because whenever he was working, my drink was made perfectly! What I didn’t know was that Jace secretly had a crush on me. Long story short, the stars aligned and we messaged each other on Instagram, became friends and eventually started dating. From the very first time we hung out, everything just clicked. I know that sounds cliche, but that’s how we felt. We knew we would end up married one day.

We both care passionately about LGBTQ+ rights and attend our local Pride celebrations together every year. We do almost anything together. He supports me while I geek out and cosplay at Comic Con, and we both love to try different restaurants. We have a huge love for Korean dramas, which is why we chose that as a wedding aesthetic.

Tell us about the proposal.

Because I had actually picked out the ring, I knew that a proposal was coming at some point, but I was completely shocked when it actually happened. I thought it was still going to be a couple of months out, but he actually managed to trick me for the first time! I almost threw all his plans off by springing it on him, last minute, that I planned to get my eyebrows microbladed on the same day he was planning to propose. How was I supposed to know?! He panicked and looked up microblading to see if my eyebrows would be all red for the pictures, but lucky for us, they always look the best the day they’re done. Crisis averted.

During my appointment, I got a text from his brother saying that needed to be picked up. I met Jace at our car, expecting to either head home or go eat, but he told me we still had to pick up his brother. We show up, and our friend and photographer, Christina appeared in the doorway! I walked in to see balloons and decorations in the living room behind Christina, now clued in that this is a proposal. Christina and Jace had planned it all, and they motioned me to the bathroom to change into a dress hanging off of the shower bar. I met them back in the living room, where Jace was fumbling to play the music, and I saw the words “marry me” written in white rose petals on the floor. Jace got down on one knee. A few seconds later, he found his words, saying the only thing he wanted for his birthday is for me to be his wife. I started to ugly cry, and of course, said yes!

How did you personalize your wedding ceremony?

We had an indoor ceremony with no religious, cultural or spiritual elements. We wrote our own vows and read them from notebooks. Jace concluded his vows with this quote from our favorite K-Drama, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God: “Every moment I spent with you…shined. Because the weather was good, because the weather was bad and because the weather was good enough. I love every moment of it.”