Bagan, Myanmar is one of those insanely beautiful, far-off-feeling places that we previously were sure only existed in our dreams. The silhouettes of temples and mountain ranges, made only more ethereal with the appearance of whimsical, floating hot air balloons, it's not a destination we typically see for weddings, but Candice + Tim may be the couple meant to wed there and change that!

Candice explains, Planning a wedding in a developing country like Myanmar was not easy, especially where the wedding services is quite nascent at the international level. However, I really met some great vendors, local and international, through the process and am so grateful for them helping Tim and me have a beautiful wedding day. The team I worked with at the hotels were so accommodating and warm, and all the hotel staff genuinely tried to make all our guests feel well looked after. The hot air balloon operators also were incredibly generous with their time, giving us advice on how best to go about things in Bagan and taking our guests on the hot air balloons.

Big thanks to Ann-Kathrin Koch Photography for the lovely, lovely photos below and be scroll down just a bit to read about exactly why Candice + Tim chose Myanmar as the location for their beautiful big day!

Tim had surprised me with a trip to Bagan for my birthday weekend (it was at the top of my travel list for a long time!) and proposed on a hot air balloon ride at sunrise during our trip. Neither of us had ever thought about getting married in Bagan, let alone Myanmar, as it is not a common destination wedding location, but both of us were completely mesmerized by how simply magical the place was, which you can fully understand if you have been. We felt lucky that Bagan had become a part of our story and thought it would be amazing to share this place with our family and friends by getting married there. Most of our guests had never been to Myanmar before and had to take a minimum of two flights to reach this remote destination, so we felt that the fact that everyone had traveled so far to celebrate our wedding already made the day about us, for which we are grateful.

Such a dream!!!!!!!

These stunning captures are from C + T's sunrise portrait session on top of a Buddhist temple from the 13th century, taken the day before their wedding...

...And now onto the main event!

Since we had gotten engaged on a hot air balloon, I wanted to incorporate a hot air balloon theme with a romantic, floral feel. I found these beautiful flower wreaths designs online and used the floral wreaths as the "toppers" of my hot air balloons for our logo and invitations. I also designed the guest bags with a hot air balloon theme and incorporated parts of the hotel and nearby temple into the drawing. In terms of the overall design and feel for the day, I kept the decor simple since the location itself with the ancient temples in the background was more than enough.

photography: Ann-Kathrin Koch Photography // venue name: Aureum Palace Resort Bagan, Bagan, Myanmar // event design: Bride // wedding planning: Bride // florals: Groom's mom // wedding dress: Rivini // wedding dress boutique: The Glamour Closet // bride's shoes: Manolo Blahnik // bride's ring: Tiffany // bridesmaid dresses: BCBG // hair stylist: Xiao Xiao (from Shanghai) // makeup artist: Xiao Xiao (from Shanghai) // groom's suit: Custom made in Hong Kong // groom's shoes: Crockett & Jones // groom's ring: Tiffanys // paper goods: Miss Mandee Designs // catering: Aureum Palace // cake: Cheese "imported" from Hong Kong by guests in hand lugagge // music: Playlist by the bride & groom // officiant: Family friend