WEDDING: 10/10/10 Officiant for International Couple

The Vietnamese bride /Dutch groom held a traditional Vietnamese wedding in the bride's home in Fountain Valley.

Officiant for International Wedding: Vietnamese/Dutch, originally uploaded by dj venus.

You can be married in a wedding within your own culture and traditions! If you simply need a qualified person to take care of the legal ceremony for you in California, please contact venus, ordained officiant and certified Life-Cycle Celebrant® at A Non-Denominational Ceremony.

WEDDING: Outdoor Ceremony at Puddingstone Resorts in San Dimas, CA

CONGRATULATIONS, Laura and Richard!
It was an honour to marry these two, who have known each other since high school. Many of their friends were in attendance, for a reunion of sorts... There was lots of family in attendance, and many of them chipped in to help out with all the little details.

Up in the hills above Fairplex Drive near the Pomona Fairplex is a truly lovely outdoor venue at PUDDINGSTONE RESORTS, close to the communities of Upland, Covina, LaVerne and the 10, 57 and 210 freeways! Wedding manager Patricia is one of those perfect blends of professional and friendly...there was nothing bossy or control-freak about her. While the wedding ceremony was held on the Mesa site, the reception took place at the famous Ocean Star Seafood restaurant in Monterey Park. Music provided by Jeff of 'N'Style Entertainment, who is a dj that shows up at the rehearsal, which is really unusual and a great bonus. Photography by Pesh.

WEDDING: Vietnamese Rituals

Traditional Vietnamese wedding rituals and customs are a mixture of native and Chinese cultures and are strongly influenced by Confucian morality. Their purposes are to ensure the conjugal happiness for the couple and to form close relations between two families.

The groom comes to the bride’s house with an elder of his family who has had a happy family life to pay homage to the ancestors of the bride’s family and to pay respect to her parents. Then the bride is taken before the ancestral altar of her husband’s family where she will be “introduced” to her husband’s ancestors’ spirits as the new family member. After that, the couple will share a cup of rice wine and a small dish of steamed sticky rice as a promise to share happiness as well as hardship.

After the ceremony is over, there is usually a wedding party with the presence of members of both families and some family friends to celebrate the union of not only the couple but also the two families.

References:
Huu Ngoc and Lady Borton, “Wedding Customs”, The Gioi Publisher
Phan Ke Binh, “The Customs of Vietnam”, Van Hoc Publisher

COURTESY OF: Vietnamese Wedding Style blog