D+C: TRADITIONAL STREET STYLE

Time: 04/2024
Wedding planner: Ngoc Anh Tran
Concept and Decoration: Thao Nguyen and Ngoc Anh Vu
Western Ceremony Venue: Bhaya Cruise Halong Bay
Bridal Costume: TRUONG THANH HAI
Bridesmaids & Groomsmen’ Ao Dai: Ao Dai Nam Tuyen
Photography & Videography: Hung Thanh
MUA & Hair: Thuong Lee

Duong and Charles, a couple united by the fusion of French and Vietnamese heritage, envisioned a wedding that would celebrate their diverse cultures, with a spotlight on Duong’s rich Vietnamese traditions.

The wedding was divided into two main parts:

Part 1 – Traditional Vietnamese Ceremony: An hoi & Don dau

Part 2 – Western Ceremony: Vow Exchange & Reception

VIETNAMESE TRADITIONAL CEREMONY

“Le An hoi”, the engagement ceremony, is a significant custom in Vietnamese weddings. Before this ceremony, both families had agreed to the marriage. On the day of Le An hoi, the groom’s family brings engagement gifts to the bride’s family to formally ask for the engagement. Once the bride’s family accepts the gifts, the couple’s journey as fiancé and fiancée begins.

“Le Don dau” is a longstanding tradition where the groom’s family shows respect to the bride by presenting the bride price and announcing the time to officially welcome her to the groom’s home.

THE VENUE

Charles, a graphic designer with a passion for the Wabi Sabi aesthetic – finding the beauty inside the imperfections. He wants the wedding to reflect natural and subtle beauty rather than the typical steel and fabric venues in Vietnam. After much deliberation, we chose bamboo and linen for the venue’s structure.

Using a different method sounded special but raised concerns about cost and aesthetic suitability. The groom’s architect friends worried about the construction cost for a 28m x 5m venue with bamboo. For the bride, the concern was what if the final look of the venue will be too raw, too simple and not suitable for this special ceremony.

To address these issues, we carefully planned details, minimized unnecessary elements, and used a sketch by Charles instead of a 3D drawing for decoration. We opted for affordable raw materials with a slight touch to ensure aesthetics and still retain natural beauty, inherent imperfections: natural bamboo, only cleaned, and thin raw linen fabric, undyed and unbleached. Labor costs were kept low thanks to a network of skilled local workers.

Finally, a bamboo pavilion is completed at a low cost but ensures the quality standards of a French architect (the groom’s brother-in-law) and ensures the aesthetic standards of a designer (the groom). The unique venue delighted all their foreign guests and convinced Duong and her family.

NO POWER CAN STOP THE ONE WHO IS DEEPLY IN LOVE.

STREET STYLE CONCEPT

To immerse guests in Vietnamese street culture, the couple hosted the post-engagement party on the sidewalk, serving familiar Vietnamese dishes such as vermicelli and spring rolls, fried rice, pho rolls, draft beer. Along with the food, the bride and groom decided to choose Vietnamese street style for the venue, keeping variegated yellow walls instead of opting for expensive decorations.

Hearing that, we immediately came up with the idea of setting up a sidewalk beer and iced tea shop, instead of a regular photobooth, offering guests an authentic street experience. This unique iced tea shop captivated everyone, creating many joyful memories.

To enhance the theme, Charles designed a stationery set with a Vietnamese street style concept and the signature message “1, 2, 3 dzo,” along with other elements like the welcome board and wedding invitations, infusing his character into every detail of the day.

CEREMONY & ACTIVITIES

For the first stage of the wedding ceremony, the groom and groomsmen must move from the hotel with gifts to the bride’s house. Instead of using a car as usual, the groom made the bold decision to let the whole group including himself and his groomsmen ride a cub motorbike to the bride’s house. This is both the groom’s passion and an unmissable challenge for the groomsmen in a country where the main means of transportation is motorbikes. This adventurous journey became a memorable part for them when remembering Vietnam.

Upon arrival, the groomsmen and bridesmaids will bring the bride price into the ceremony area. At this time, representatives of the two families will speak and discuss so that in the end Duong and Charles officially agreeing to become family.

VIETNAM TRADITIONAL COSTUME

On this day, all attendees wore traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai, including the bride, groom, and both families. Charles was especially pleased with his custom-made linen Ao Dai. He decided to wear his Ao Dai even at the cruise wedding instead of a formal and uncomfortable suit.

Duong’s Ao Dai was a delicate monochrome design with embroidered lace and floral motifs, exuding a modern vibe in white rather than the traditional red. The bridesmaids wore sky-blue Ao Dai, enhancing their gentle beauty so much that they chose to buy rather than rent them.

BEER & KARAOKE

When the best friends can get together laughing and celebrating in the space they love, time is never enough. The celebration continued with friends singing karaoke and enjoying each other’s company from noon to 8 p.m. The deep blue night slowly fell down but the joyful heart inside everyone probably still surged and danced until the next morning.

WESTERN CEREMONY ON HALONG BAY CRUISE

After an engagement ceremony imbued with Vietnamese culture, Charles and Duong hosted a Western ceremony on a HaLong Bay cruise.

Guests spent two days and one night fully enjoying the moments of attachment and emotion, separated from everyday life among the ocean waves and majestic limestone mountains of wild nature, which is a worth-to-try experience in Vietnam.

When the night falls, a Rock-style costume party began, allowed everyone to express their unique personalities, mirroring the freedom and love of Charles and Duong.