Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach, Dana Point CA
Photography | Perpixel Photography
Videography | Perpixel Photography
Planning & Design | ME Weddings and Events
Florals | Lace and Stems
Make-up | E2Beauty
Catering | Waldorf Astoria
Live Band | Downbeat Agency
Cake | M Cake Sweets
Venue | Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach
First things first. That wedding dress. That wedding dress by Monique Lhuillier is everything! I want you to scroll down, check it out, and come back here. OKAY! Now you see what type of wedding this is. It’s floral, playful, colorful, and fun.
How did you two meet?
“He is from Minnesota; I am from Oklahoma, and we met in California. We first met during orientation week at Stanford when we were assigned adjacent dorm rooms. After fountain hopping during freshman orientation week, Mitchell stubbed his toe. I asked if he needed a bandaid, and we quickly became best friends. After months of being tied to the hip as best friends, finally something changed — ski trip. It is a Stanford tradition for freshman dorms to go on a ski trip to Tahoe in the spring. This was where we realized that maybe there was something ~more~ to our relationship. About eight years later, we finally tied the knot!”
What was totally “you” about your wedding?
“Though we wanted both our Western wedding ceremony and Vietnamese tea ceremony to be traditional in their respective ways, we still wanted some aspects to be unique to us. I am absolutely in love with my wedding dress. It is an ivory with green floral print ballgown designed by Monique Lhuillier that truly felt like a centerpiece to our garden party wedding. I really wanted to highlight my Vietnamese heritage, so we hired the incomparable Gio Nam Lion Dancing troupe to perform, which was a wonderful surprise for our guests. We love our food and did not want any of our guests to leave feeling hungry. In addition to the hors d’oeuvres, entree, and cake, we had late-night sliders, truffle fries, and (my favorite treat ever) Krispy Kreme donuts! Lastly, I just wanted a bright and flower-filled wedding vibe that was fun and inviting for our guests, and my team delivered!”
What was the biggest challenge?
“We are both very lucky that we have very supportive family and friends and the most incredible wedding vendor team, so our actual wedding day was quite seamless. However, my family had to plan and organize the entire Vietnamese Tea Ceremony on our own, and that was a little challenging. My family had never planned a tea ceremony before, and his family had never attended one. We had to do quite a lot of Googling and Youtube-ing to see what it would look like — where people would stand, how to properly address elders — the whole shebang. We actually missed a pretty important detail: the tea itself! Mitchell and I ended up miming the pouring of tea from an empty teapot into cups for our relatives. Even though we had to run around the whole week before the wedding to make sure we got it right, we are both so happy we honored this traditional Vietnamese custom, and I’m so happy I got to share this piece of my culture with his family.”
Most worthwhile splurge?
“The floral installation! The installation was something that I thought I could only have in my fantasy wedding, but Thu from Lace and Stems turned it into a reality! We are so glad that we ended up having it because it really tied the entire reception space together with our floral theme. There is just something so dreamy about dancing with your loved ones under your favorite flowers and twinkle lights.”
Advice for future couples planning their wedding?
1. Planning a wedding can be a stressful time for many reasons — the time consumption, the family dynamics, and the need to please your guests. However, all of these stresses can be easily dealt with if you have a great support system and partnership with your future spouse! Make sure you have somebody you can lean on when things start to get stressful.
2. As cheesy as it sounds, “you only live once” really applies here. We were only going to do this once in our lives, so we wanted to make sure that we had all of the things that we wanted to make our day special. If that is possible for you and your partner, I say: go for it!!!! It really is worth it to have your dream wedding.
3. Leave time for your special ones. We made sure to have extra time with our respective wedding parties and families. Our rehearsal dinner was attended by just our wedding party and immediate families, and it was incredible to really thank them for all they had done for us and to share that in a more intimate way. I also spent so many hours in my bridal suite with my bridesmaids getting ready, and I am so thankful for that because I really didn’t get much of a chance to do that during the wedding itself.
4. Share a moment with every guest. Our wedding was not huge — only about 135 people — but we made it a point to talk to (or dance with) each guest. If possible, it’s great to have a whole weekend of festivities to maximize time with your friends and family!
5. Have fun! On your wedding day, let your team take care of you — focus on having a wonderful time surrounded by loved ones!
*All images are copyrighted by Perpixel Photography. When using any of these images for any sites, please give proper credit to Perpixel Photography and tag @perpixelphoto
