Cosplay enthusiasts Charice and Perla’s wedding combined their passion for anime with light and airy elements to create a mesmerizing visual feast filled with dreamy colors and creative designs.
Hair and makeup artists created a dreamy beauty look with pastel wedding colors of pink, orange, and lilac. “They wanted to look like themselves, but also like a real-life cartoon, wedding day in their animated series,” says Ashley Peters, owner of The Stylist Abroad. “We incorporated intricate braids, bright pinks, and elf ears. I’ve never seen a wedding look so authentic and regal!”
“We were engaged for about a year and a half, which was really helpful for planning our overseas wedding,” Charisse says. “We live in Japan, but we got married in the U.S. with lots of international guests! It was definitely a good thing we were engaged for so long, because we did all the planning ourselves.”
“We had been dating for a few years before Perla first proposed to me (at Christmas!), and I made sure to counter-propose a few months later, under the same cherry blossom tree where we first met.”
Charice and Perla met at a cosplay event in Osaka. “Perla was dressed as a Disney princess, and I was dressed as a masked cartoon villain. We were both like, ‘Wow, cool!’ So we took a photo together and parted ways without exchanging contact information. A few weeks later, I was at a spring picnic party that Perla happened to be at. We exchanged social media accounts and realized that we’d met before! And a great friendship was born. A few more months later, we decided to try dating, but as we’re both asexual, we weren’t really sure how to go about it. While Hollywood love stories always seem to emphasize attraction and passion, I think in our case we took it a bit slower, took everything step by step, and focused on communication and comfort. We dated for a few years before Perla first proposed (at Christmas!), and a few months later, I made sure to counter-propose under the same cherry blossom tree where we first met.”
Every element of their Alabama wedding, which took place in August, was carefully chosen, including tiny Japanese fans for wedding guests and water bottles to beat the Southern heat. “We got married in a beautiful venue in a forest clearing in front of a lake that was once a horse stable,” Challis says. “I rode horses there for a few years as a teenager, but the owners left and the property was sold to an amazing family who transformed the entire place into a gorgeous event space. Watching it all come together was amazing. Our florist, Native Petals, perfectly combined our favorite orange and purple color palette, including the flower crowns.”
“If you’ve ever been to the Southeast in the middle of summer, you’ve noticed that it storms almost every afternoon. The skies went from sunny morning to overcast as our 1pm ceremony approached, but no rain yet. However, by the time we said our vows, thunder began to rumble. Ironically, our vows mentioned a storm, which made the timing rather poignant, but the skies waited until all of our guests were in the reception before the rain started to pour. Luckily, Perla is from Italy, and they say rain on your wedding day is a sign of good fortune and a blessing from heaven, so we didn’t mind.”
The non-binary couple spent 20 weeks practicing their first dance with a professional choreographer in Japan. Their first dance song was “Dos Orugitas” by Sebastian Yatra, the theme song to their favorite movie, “Encanto.” “I was especially nervous,” says Charis. “I don’t think of myself as a dancer. But it turned out great! We did a few special dances afterwards, including my favorite, the family dance.” With so many queer guests attending the wedding, Charis asked the DJ to invite those who came with their families to dance, especially “found families.” “That was a big hit! About half of the attendees came forward and we all formed a big circle, held hands, and danced together. It still makes me smile when I think about it.”
Their wedding was filled with thoughtful and creative elements, many of which were created by Chalice. “Because I’m an artist, I wanted to take on most of the design work, from the invitations to the welcome posters and table cards, all of which Perla adorable named after. All of the graphics were created from scratch and based on the same rose petal motif that Perla designed her wedding rings with. Needless to say, their wedding outfits were completely bespoke. I designed my own ‘bridal style’ suit and helped Perla design a dress and shorts combo, then worked with Novleaf, a custom wedding outfitter in Osaka, to fully realise the design.”
“Our requests were a little unconventional, so it helped that I had a little sewing and costuming knowledge. I asked for a full jacket with a bow lace vest, pants with lace cutouts, and a removable organza train that looked like flower petals. Perla asked for a sweetheart neckline dress with a keyhole back and a two-tiered skirt that had a slit in the front to reveal the shorts underneath. The long skirt was removable and the top skirt could be busted so she could dance without stepping on the lace trim. We had all our jewelry, makeup, and hair in place and I was so excited to see it all come to fruition on the day. It was even more amazing than I could have imagined. Perla decided on most of the music, including our entrance song from How to Train Your Dragon and our exit song from Portal 2, which was also a precursor to our hairstyle. We also included confetti (candy covered almonds), which is a traditional Italian wedding favor, and placed it next to our wedding card box (instead of a traditional wedding book).”
What advice would you give to engaged LGBTQ+ couples and married people?
Be patient and thoughtful when deciding where to hold your wedding and who you will involve, from vendors to guests. It’s worth staying in touch with vendors who are “on the same page” as you. It can be scary to put yourself out there, especially in today’s climate, but when you can share your story and make a real connection with people, magic happens. It can be tempting to rush things, and that’s true for anyone in the exciting whirlwind that is an engagement. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this relationship and this entire process, it’s the virtue of taking things slowly.
What advice do you have for vendors and venues who work with LGBTQ+ couples and wedding partners?
It will save you a lot of heartache if vendors and venues can make it clear they are inclusive in their information, websites, social media pages, etc. Whether it’s a huge gay wedding album or just a little rainbow flag in the corner, nothing gives LGBTQ+ couples more peace of mind than knowing they won’t be denied entry. Beyond that, we think the next best advice we can give is to educate yourself. Educate yourself on pronouns, terminology, and inclusive language, and remember to ask before you assume. And if you make a mistake with an LGBTQ+ client (it happens to us!), apologize, correct it, and keep going. We’ve always felt more comfortable with vendors who we could see were making an effort and that respect is always a priority.
What challenges have you faced planning your wedding as an LGBTQ+ couple or LGBTQ+ married couple?
As an LGBTQ+ couple, we certainly had many unique challenges. First of all, location. Alabama isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind when it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusivity, but among the most practical options, it was actually the best choice for us. We are an American-Italian couple living in Japan. In Japan, same-sex marriage is still completely illegal, and in some cities you can have a “partnership,” but it’s not legally binding. Italy has a same-sex partnership system that has almost all the legal rights of marriage, but wedding venues have years-long waiting lists. So my hometown became the only viable option, as the US is the only place that fully legalizes same-sex marriage.
We then had to find inclusive vendors and venues in Alabama, which always started with the same email, basically asking, “Do you accept gays?” We were told so many times that the vendor or venue had never worked with same-sex couples. In some cases, they were very helpful in connecting us to more suitable vendors, but more often than not, the conversation ended there. The most shocking thing was when we emailed a local botanical garden only to hear back from them no longer.”
As an LGBTQ+ couple or couple, have you encountered any happy surprises while planning your wedding?
Even though there were a lot of struggles with vendors and venues, we had a lot of great interactions. Whenever we were able to connect with inclusive vendors, they were so wonderful and excited to work with us, and we got a lot of great advice and suggestions. And on the Japanese side, we were actually blown away by the enthusiasm of each vendor we worked with. Even though same-sex marriage is not yet legal, the majority of people seemed very pro-choice, so it was reassuring to feel like people supported us even though the laws had not yet caught up. Everyone was so excited about our designs and plans, and it really brought us a lot of joy and energy during the long engagement period. 
Featured LGBTQ+ Inclusive Wedding Suppliers
Hair, Makeup & Styling: Overseas stylistsAffirming LGBTQ+ Equal WedPro Certified Inclusive Wedding Professional and a Preferred Vendor of Equally Wed
photograph: Jeff & Rachel Photography
Wedding ceremony and reception venue: Hampton Cove Wedding Venue
Florist: Native Petals
Clothing: November Leaves
jewelry: Ringram
Source: Equally Wed – LGBTQ+ Wedding Magazine and Wedding Vendor Directory – equallywed.com
