I am thrilled to be sharing a love story that is close to home for us at Modern Wedding. Hue started her career with us over ten years ago and went on to live and work in London, where she met her husband, Alex.
Of course working in a place like Modern Wedding, your wedding can be no plain event! Their wedding was a two-tiered event starting with a casual, yet official ceremony in Brisbane, followed by a much more illustrious event eight months later with 250 of their closest friends and family.
The wedding was a perfect union of Hue's Vietnamese culture and Alex's English heritage. With traditional Vietnamese and western wedding attire, a mix of languages and a colourful display by traditional lion dancers to bring good fortune and prosperity to the occasion, the day was a triumphant mesh of culture, tradition and colour.
The two personalities synchronised to create a beautifully dynamic event, perfect for their new lives together.
" They say that when you meet 'The One' you just know, and if you're reading this post, then you can probably relate. So the story goes, boy meets girl in an English bar and all it took was a few flirty glances and a couple of cheeky smiles. A number of dates later, Alex and I both knew that our lives have changed forever. This was the beginning of something amazing.
Living in London gave us the luxury of being at Europe's doorstep. On our first year anniversary, we decided to head to Italy for a romantic getaway. Our itinerary included a four day stop in Venice and this (I later discovered) was where Alex was originally going to propose to me, but didn't. A mixture of nerves on his part and work stress on mine, prevented him from finding the right moment. So our holiday continued with me not being any the wiser of his romantic notions.
Two months later on a weekend outing to the beautiful historic village of Rey, 'The moment' presented itself and as the sun was setting over the harbour side, Alex proposed to me. He had his grandmother's engagement ring. That moment was breathtaking.
Within six months of our engagement, we had relocated to Australia and were married. As part of our resettlement plan, we decided to organise a two part wedding to take the pressure off us both emotionally and financially. This also gave our friends and families from overseas time to plan their epic trip down under to share our day.
Mark One of our wedding plan materialised in the form of a beautiful civil ceremony at Newstead Park, Brisbane. The ceremony was intimate, romantic and very simple. We wrote our own vows and shared them with thirty guests, then later celebrated the occasion with a casual lunch at my parent's home. I chose to wear a knee length cherry pink Karen Millen dress because I wanted to keep the day casual. In fact, it felt more like a relaxed engagement party, rather than an official wedding. We kept expenses to a minimum with no bridal party, just a celebrant, photographer and violinist. We even sent our invitations by email.
Eight months after we first said 'I will' to each other in the park, we repeated our vows in a church. This was the highly anticipated 'Mark Two' of our wedding celebrations. We had more time and a much bigger budget for planning this event and wanted it to be an unforgettable day, not only for us, but for our 250 guests also.
Although our wedding was planned predominantly based on Western wedding traditions, I wanted to ensure that there were still elements of my Vietnamese heritage included. For the church blessing, my mother wore a traditional Vietnamese 'Ao Dai' and we also had one made for Alex's mum. They both looked so graceful in them. The church ceremony was also conducted in both English and Vietnamese and although I wore a fitted ivory wedding gown for the church, I changed into a traditional bridal red and gold 'Ao Dai' during the reception later that evening.
Looking back now, I know I am a very lucky girl, living the modern dream. Despite having said 'I will' once before to each other, we didn't lose any of that 'magic' the second time around. Our wedding day, mark one and two, were perfect. This was meant to be OUR day and Alex and I ensured we both took time out to enjoy every moment of it (twice over). Would we do it again? Yes, definitely!"
Dress: My wedding dress and stunning cathedral veil was a gift from my previous employer, English bridal designer Caroline Castigliano. It was a made to measure duchess silk strapless fishtail gown and on the day, fitted me like a glove.
Bridesmaids: My bridesmaids wore one shoulder royal blue silk gowns that draped to the floor. The detail on the shoulder of each dress was hand sewn on to tie in with the classic glamour theme.
Groom and Groomsmen: Alex looked absolutely suave in his classic black and white tuxedo. Groomsmen also wore black tuxedos with royal blue bow ties and handkerchiefs to match my bridesmaids.
Cake: The wedding cake is by 'A Cake to Remember' and is a multi-tier of mint chocolate and raspberry swirl, with fresh flowers.
Flowers: My bouquet was a pose of white Lissianthus and green privet berries hand-tied and finished with a cream satin ribbon - I loved the simplicity and freshness of these blooms.
Car: When I stepped out of the classic 1939 Rolls Royce, I felt like a movie star stepping out onto the red carpet for the first time. What a moment.
Photographer: Junior Agyeman Owusu. Our photographer Junior, was a mate who few over from the UK to capture our special day. We loved his natural style and candid shots and knew that he was the right man for the job.
Entertainment: The lion dance, a symbol of good fortune & prosperity, was a gift from my sister and her boyfriend and had our guests in awe and fascination.
Church: Christ The King, Graceville - this is an catholic church near my parent's home. We decided to have the church ceremony there because we loved the intimate size and simple beauty of it.
Reception: We had 250 guests so needed a venue that offered enough space. Michael's Oriental Function Centre was perfect because not only did they have the space, the eight course banquet menu was world class.
Congratulations to Hue and Alex - we are thrilled for your and wish you a happy and fabulous future together.
Are you integrating cultures into your ceremony? How will you be doing it? We'd love to know.
Leave you comments below or swing by facebook or twitter and tell us what you think.
K xx
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