A Moody, Sexy Wedding at a Restaurant in New York City's Chinatown

It was Colette Dong and Johan Anderson's unique careers that brought them together. Colette is a dancer and the founder of NYC-based the ness—a dance fitness method that offers workouts on and off a trampoline—while Johan is a filmmaker and director. They first met in 2015 on the set of a dance film. “I was a dancer in it and Johan was the director, but we were only on set together for about two hours. We said hello and did our jobs, but didn’t interact or exchange contact information,” Colette remembers. “The following year, the same producer asked us on another project, but this time with a much smaller cast. We actually had the weekend and several scenes to get to know each other. If it weren’t for that second project, we probably wouldn’t have crossed paths again.” They became close friends, then began dating within a year.

Their engagement was non-traditional. Colette had stumbled upon a ring at her favorite jeweler, Anna Sheffield, and fallen in love; it featured a unique brilliant-cut gray diamond with black peppered in. “It looked like a whole galaxy inside [the stone],” she says. “I told Johan about it and he insisted we just go in and check it out over the weekend.” Little did she know, Johan had already been working with the jeweler on a custom ring, but he hadn’t found the perfect stone yet. “We entered the store and Johan immediately knew which one it was without me saying anything. He purchased it on the spot and we both knew, without words, that at that moment we were engaged. We decided the only reason to stage a big proposal would be for other people and not for us, so he didn’t save it for a later date. I just walked out with it on my finger.” They rode the spontaneous high all day long, celebrating with various friends and family around the city. 

They were in no rush to wedding plan. “It took us a pretty long time to actually decide on what we wanted to do for a wedding,” Colette admits. “We didn’t have any interest in a venue that served only as an event space without meaning to us, so we were just waiting for the right place to strike.” After a private birthday dinner at Chinese Tuxedo in Manhattan, they knew they had found the spot. “Not only was it the first Chinese theater in New York City, but it’s situated on one of New York’s most historic streets. I grew up in New York, as did my whole family. My father's side immigrated to Chinatown to start a better life—and there [Johan and I] were, an artist and an entrepreneur no less, sipping on cocktails and living out that better life in the exact same place.” Just like with ring shopping, they booked the restaurant on the spot.

The location took on even an deeper meaning during the pandemic. The couple wanted their wedding to feel very New York, and “it was important to pay homage to Chinatown in particular,” Colette says. “As a female small business owner, this was crucial to me. While Chinese Tuxedo has blended ownership, we worked with small, female- or Chinese-owned vendors. As a fitness studio, my business was hit really hard during the pandemic, but what a lot of people don’t realize was that Chinatown was suffering for about six months before the official lockdown in New York even began. New Yorkers and tourists stopped frequenting the area due to stigmas [against] Chinese people due to the virus’ origin in Wuhan. We sourced as many local things as we could because of this—and anything we couldn’t get in Chinatown, we looked for female entrepreneurs to handle. We also wanted to give our business to New York City, a place we love so much.”

The vibe was “moody, creative, sexy, delicious,” Colette says. “A refreshing change from the traditional.” Read on to see all the cool details, planned by the couple with day-of coordination by Full Moon and Company and photographed by Tess Mayer of Tess & Julia.

“Johan wanted to go classic black tie, with some elements that fit his favorite design styles,” Colette says. “He wore a classic black suit with a light gray textured tuxedo shirt and a black bow tie. He also wore two bracelets by his favorite designer, Matthew M. Williams of 1017 Alyx 9SM.

Colette began her day with a bounce class at her fitness studio, the ness. “We have so many clients I have known for several years that we couldn’t invite, so it was a nice way to celebrate with everyone on the day of. We did an especially hard class for 75 minutes before walking back to the hotel.” Getting glam was quite the pivot. “My hair is always up for work because I am sweating and working out, so I wanted to have it down for a change,” she says. “I also rarely wear makeup, so we did a winged eyeliner and red lip. This added some drama and I loved it!” The shade? Fluffmate in Major by Sunnies Face. “Every bride needs to get a Fluffmate [lipstick]—you will not regret it!”

“I tried on a mix of traditional and nontraditional looks, but wanted to make sure my outfits fit the vibe of the venue and the night,” she says. She landed on two separate looks, starting with a satin dress with fitted bodice by Galvan London. “In lieu of holding flowers, I decided to go with the Jacquemus Le sac Rond as a statement instead. I figured flowers die, and I would rather spend money on a dope purse.”

“We did not have a wedding party, but some of my girlfriends came to the hotel and walked to Chinese Tuxedo with me. It was one of my favorite memories," Colette shares. "They formed a circle around me and made sure no one ran into me with coffee or bubble tea. It was such a fun walk and no one even noticed us, which made it even funnier. Just another day in NYC.”

“Johan directed and edited a film using footage from two generations back of both our families,” Colette says. “We secretly shot footage and stole archival photos and videos from our families; it was a process we started the minute we decided on our wedding date."

The film was projected on the restaurant's wall and served as the precursor to the wedding ceremony. "It contained three parts: Part one was our grandparents, part two was our parents and families, and part three read the date which marks the beginning of our journey. When the film hit part three, I walked into the room to meet Johan at the bottom of the stairs. It really brought the whole room to tears.”

There was one more major ceremony moment, too. The couple wrote personalized letters to each of their 120 guests to open and read at their seats.

There were no florals or formal altar at the ceremony. “Chinese Tuxedo has such good decor we didn’t change a thing,” Colette says. “They beefed up the candles for us to make it super moody, and we kept their plants and flowers in place.” The couple and their officiant stood at the base of a small staircase. "It’s a cool space because they have a sunken dining room that used to be a part of a stage, and a mezzanine where the audience would sit. We used the mezzanine for seating so had a lot of our friends and family standing above us. It created a ceremony in the round which felt less formal and more inclusive.”

After saying "I do," the newlyweds spent some time alone around the neighborhood with their photographer to snap some portraits and soak in the moment.

The couple are music buffs and Colette makes playlists for her fitness classes daily, so curating their own music for cocktail hour and beyond was a no-brainer. “Dinner featured a lot of the songs we listened to together when we were first dating, and the reception had a lot of remixes that we play at the ness. I am usually the one bossing the DJ around to play different songs, so I figured I would just do it myself.”

“For dinner, we did a version of the banquet menu offered at Chinese Tuxedo,” Colette says. “It included spicy cucumbers, hamachi crudo, squid ink noodles, xo fried rice, branzino, and xinjiang beef—all contemporary takes on traditional Chinese dishes. We also passed canapes of two types of buns, dumplings, and fried eggplant.”

“We had a traditional lion dance come during dessert to lead everyone downstairs to start the party,” Colette says. “We anticipated it to be a nice traditional moment, but they were a lot more energetic than we expected. They were so fun and really carried the energy into the next phase of the night. We handed out red envelopes for all the guests to feed the lions for good luck."

“We didn’t have a designated first dance, but made sure ‘Stand By Me’ by Ben E. King (Justin Caruso remix) was playing in the club as the lions took us down to party.”

The party was downstairs at the basement club Peachy’s. Again, the space didn't require much decoration. “They have epic décor, from flowers hanging from the ceiling to neon signs to buddha and cat cups,” Colette says. “It reminds me of a club in Hong Kong, a city we both also love.” This is when Colette changed into her second look, a corset top with crystal chain and wide-leg pants by NDS.

“You don’t have to hold on to traditional wedding moments if they don’t mean anything to you,” Colette says of wedding planning. “Make choices that suit you as a couple and don’t worry about catering to other people. The day should have everything you want.” Theirs certainly did.