A Vietnamese Dream Wedding at Wild Dunes Resort |

Charleston wedding

Robyn and Jenning’s Vietnamese wedding at the Wild Dunes Resort was really special to me. Most of you know that I am from Germany and the way we celebrate weddings is slightly different than Americans usually do. When I started photographing weddings in the US, I learned a lot about American traditions and how they celebrate their big day, but also saw a lot of similarities to my culture.

Get to know the Vietnamese wedding traditions

When Robyn reached out to me telling me that her family is originally from Vietnam and they planned on having a traditional Vietnamese wedding including a tea ceremony in the morning —I was thrilled. I have never attended a tea ceremony and had absolutely no idea what to expect. But also couldn’t wait to learn, celebrate and photograph her and her fiancé’s special day. For the traditional celebrations in the morning, Robyn wore a gorgeous red custom-made gown called ‘ao dai’ – please Robyn correct me if that’s not the way you spell it 😀 and a beautiful red headpiece. Jennings was also wearing a traditional Vietnamese outfit and together they served tea to the oldest of the family.

It was an amazing experience to witness a part of their culture and just made me extremely happy. They held the afternoon ceremony outside on the lawn, overlooking the beach and the ocean, Robyn changed into a white dress. This part was definitely more western inspired. Her dad walked her down the aisle and that’s where Robyn and Jennings said ‘I do’ in front of both their families.

A beautiful blend of American and Vietnamese Wedding traditions

I have never said this before but the part I loved most on that perfect fall day was their reception. Since they chose to have a more intimate wedding, they could fit all their guests around a huge table. Right before they cut the cake almost everyone got up and gave a speech for the newlyweds.

Let me tell you, this absolutely touched my heart. Those speeches were intimate, funny, sad and just simply beautiful. You could feel the deep love they have for one another and I could’ve listened to their stories forever. That’s what I believe a wedding should be like. Celebrating with the ones that are closest to you, reminiscing about the past, dreaming about the future while eating good food under a starlit sky.

Later that night I told Martin that if we ever celebrate our wedding, that’s the way I wanted it.

To all the fellow wedding vendors – Thank you so much for being a part of this wedding day! We loved working with you. We sincerely appreciate everyone involved and all the effort put in to make this day special.