Tuesday 28 August 2018

Natalie & Joe’s Traditional Vietnamese, Meets Modern, Local Northern Virginia Wedding

Natalie & Joe met in high school, but started dating years later. Their relationship finally took the next step overlooking the city of DC at sunset, at a beautiful hotel in Dupont Circle. From there they planned a stunning, multicultural wedding with traditional Vietnamese cultures and modern Christian wedding themes woven together. The entire day ended with over 400 guests (yowsa!) attending a 10-course meal in Arlington, VA.
The couple used many details from their ancestry, gifts from their parents & grandparents, and then used a ton of local, Arlington VA wedding vendors to complete the rest of the day! A special thanks to Jalapeno Photography for submitting this beautiful Northern Virginia wedding to us!

From the bride:

For our wedding, all the bridesmaids wore traditional Vietnamese dresses, known in Vietnamese as Ao Dai. I wore an ivory lace dress and long hand-sewn veil that was made in Vietnam by the same designer of the bridesmaids' dresses.

After the church ceremony we headed to my grandmother's house for traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony. I changed into a dark pink Ao Dai, and my husband put on a traditional Vietnamese wedding garment as well.
We followed traditional practice: the groom's family came to the bride's family's home with gifts, and the bridesmaids receive the gifts while I watched from a window.

Inside, the family altar was decorated in red covered with sweets, foods and photos of our ancestors. My father guided us in the blessing and helped us light the incense as we bow in honor of our ancestors asking for their blessings.

The toast was especially personal because my mom presented me with her vintage sequined dress, it was the first expensive dresses she purchased years after her arrival to America at the end of the Vietnam War. It was a couture dress hand-made by a designer in Hong Kong. She had only worn it once many years ago. Each sequin, and crystal was applied by hand, and I could feel the weight of the dress as I put it on. As I stepped out I could hear the ooohs and ahhhs from all the guests. The dress was truly one of a kind.

Congratulations Natalie & Joe! Thank you for sharing your beautiful Vietnamese, meets Modern Northern Virginia wedding with us! A special thanks again to Jalapeno Photography & Two Bright Lights for making this feature possible.

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