LanChi + Duc

Wendy and I had the privilege of photographing LanChi's and Duc's wedding in December. Duc is a dentist in Chapel Hill and LanChi is in her medical residency at UNC-CH. They held the wedding in Winston-Salem, where LanChi's parents live, because the traditional Vietnamese ceremony always takes place at the home of the bride and her family. They then followed with a traditional Christian service at a church that evening. You can read a little more about the Vietnamese ceremony and its traditions here.

This sign on the porch indicates that this the bride's family home, where the ceremony will be taking place.




The groom's beautiful and regal grandmother....



....and the daughter of a friend, who served as a flower girl in the church service that evening.

The bride's family waits on the porch in a specific order as the groom's family arrives, bringing gifts in red lacquer boxes...

I particularly like this shot of Wendy's showing the color and detail of the gift table...


Soon everyone was gathered to wait for LanChi to come downstairs in her traditional red dress...

She joined Duc at the front of the room to face their families, his on the left of the table, hers on the right...

Part of the ceremony involves the bestowing of gifts on the bride and groom, and LanChi's mother is putting a pair of earrings on her daughter...

After the ceremony, it's time to open the lacquer boxes, which are filled with sweet things of all kinds.

Alongside the traditional, there is also evidence of the modern and fresh...

The couple exits the house to a waiting Rolls Royce which will take them to the church for the Christian service in a few hours.

There's something very Mondrian-ish about this shot of Wendy's as LanChi gets into the car -- I love the composition, the striking red hat, and the smudge of fingerprints on the window.

LanChi later changes into a stunning Vera Wang gown and takes a few minutes by herself before walking down the aisle with her father.

The evening ended with a wonderful party and reception at a hotel ballroom in downtown Winston. It was a great day!