How did you meet?
We met at a swing dancing party in Paris!
What is your proposal story?
Anthony organized a get away weekend on the coast with his friends. On the way to the coast, he received a call from his friends that they had some issues with their car. They could not make it on time, so they said we should have lunch without them. He took me to this fancy beautiful hotel with a view of the beach. We had lunch on the terrace of the hotel. The server brought us champagne. Anthony opened a little red box where there was a beautiful ring inside and proposed to me! He actually made up the story about his friends not being able to come; they were not even aware of any plans for that weekend!
Tell us a little bit about your wedding.
We wanted to bring a mixture of culture in our wedding. I come from Vietnam and Anthony comes from a region in France where there are a lot of vineyards and castles. We both love the vintage style and swing atmosphere.
We found an authentic place in Anthony’s region: a troglodyte house surrounded by vineyards and sunflower fields. We decorated the place with Vietnamese lanterns.
My parents come from Vietnam. My mother only speaks Vietnamese. My brother and his wife come from the United States, and his wife only speaks English. Anthony’s parents only speak French. Even though we did not have a common language, we created activities that would encourage communication. We made up some games for everyone to play together without the need to understand the language!
Tell us about your attire choices.
I wanted to keep a Vietnamese touch to our wedding. For the ceremony in the city hall, I had a traditional Vietnamese dress (“ao dai”) that my mother brought from Vietnam. For the restaurant and for the evening, I had a short dress to dance and move comfortably in.
Anthony likes casual chic style. He had a blue suit with moccasin shoes.
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
The most important thing for us was to have this event represent ourselves. We wanted it to be a pleasure to plan, not full of pressure. We skipped everything we didn’t like and anything that seemed to be too complicated. We splurged on what made us the most joyful. For example, we rented out a vintage car. It was quite expensive for our budget, but it was a true pleasure to drive.
Another thing we chose to splurge on was photography, because we knew that those images will be our cherished memories to look back on 10 to 30 years from now.
Were there any DIY or personal aspects to your wedding?
The Ao Dai was crafted in Vietnam. We made our own pennant banner to decorate the troglodyte house. We also gifted everyone candles that we personally handcrafted from wax.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
My brother’s speech was my favorite part of the day. It was an improvised speech, but the most loving speech that I had ever heard. It still makes me cry when I think about it!
The wedding is a good occasion to say the words that you don’t usually say in daily life. I felt so blessed on my wedding day.
