About one wedding we shoot every season is a Traditional Vietnamese Wedding celebration. Having done a handful of them by now, we know a few things going in: 1. It's a long day for everyone. 2. There is amazing food throughout the day in abundance. 3. There are usually several hundred guests. 4.These weddings have some SERIOUS dancers on the dance floor. Nhu and Chris did not disappoint. Matt, Abby and myself all got to join in on the fun for this one and from a story tellers point of view there were so many memorable moments. Nhu tends toward the reserved side, but the moment she and Chris saw each other at the Traditional Vietnamese Tea ceremony held at her parents house the morning of the wedding, she was beaming. Chris almost always has an infectious smile on his face, which we found energizing and made things easy on us as photographers. The day started very early with a buzz of bridesmaids primping and prepping (the guys had their fair share too) at Nhu's family's home in Brooklyn Park, MN. Part of the tea ceremony involves the groom and his friends/family bringing traditional gifts (a whole, roasted hog, for example) for the bride and her family. This procession gets the whole day off to a fun start. After the tea ceremony and many meaningful gifts, the couple celebrates with brunch and lots of family photos. Nhu and Chris wanted to incorporate their Catholic faith into their wedding so they changed into Western attire for a first look and headed to their church which does mass in Vietnamese on a weekly basis. The mass was in two languages, so it was fun for us to pick apart the ceremony as compared to other Catholic weddings we've shot without hearing when the first kiss was coming up - for example. After the mass the whole bridal party loaded up and headed downtown Saint Paul for some photos in Mears Park and around some of our favorite little nooks. The evening concluded with a huge reception where more folks joined them for a 10 course feast, more gifting and dancing. Their guests hit the dance floor hard and we had a blast documenting it all. Nhu and Chris, thank you for allowing us to photograph your big day. We had a great time and have loved working together. We wish you may happy years together!
Susan + Tony = Married
Susan and Tony were married on a perfect summer day in July. We started out the morning with a traditional Vietnamese Tea Ceremony at Susan's parents house - which includes a procession of the groom and his family and friends presenting the bride and her parents with many gifts, including a whole roast pig. Since we don't speak Vietnamese, we can't exactly tell you what they say, but we can tell you that the Tea Ceremony was full of laughter, hugs and two people very much in love with beaming parents. That alone started the day out with a joyous, family-focused feel, which continued throughout the afternoon lunch reception and into their Catholic Ceremony and dinner reception. One of our favorite things about Susan and Tony is their ability to not take themselves too seriously. They know how to let loose and enjoy life, which is really what a wedding celebration is all about. Tony is notorious for looking at the world with the up most optimism; he is like a traveling party. Susan is his rock; grounded, organized and full of joy. We had a great time photographing their wedding and especially enjoyed their surprise Wedding Party Flash mob, they can really dance! Congratulations Susan and Tony! We wish you a lifetime of happiness together!