A dramatic Vietnamese American wedding overlooking Little Rock

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City chic in Arkansas? Yes, you heard it here first lovelies & oh is this Little Rock wedding fabulous.

Thanks to darker florals, splashes of red & dramatic photographs taken by LAYERS, Christan & Marc’s Vietnamese American wedding is ever-so-romantic. The entire celebration intertwined old traditions with modern fashion. Starting with their afternoon Vietnamese Tea Ceremony, Christan donned a gorgeous custom Vietnamese dress made modern thanks to a dramatic train & gorgeous headpiece.

For their Western ceremony, the Little Rock couple showed off how chic Arkansas can be thanks to a swanky ballroom overlooking Little Rock. In front of windows offering 360 views and a circle altar made of lush greenery, the stylish couple & their friends (seriously – wait until you see the guest fashion!) partied the night away.

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Our Love Story

The first time we met was on the dance floor at one of Marc’s fraternity parties. It was in the spring of 2006. A friend introduced us on the dance floor, and we had a blast dancing and getting to know each other. Marc really won me over with his dance moves.

Usually, for the Christmas holiday, we spend Christmas Eve with Marc’s family in Fort Smith and Christmas day with my family in Joplin. Except, Marc had to work Christmas day and “drove” back to Little Rock after spending time with his family on Christmas Eve. Later the night of Christmas Eve after I arrived in Joplin, my sister convinced me to ride along with her family to take Christmas photos in downtown Joplin. So, I was very surprised when Marc was waiting for me in front of a Christmas display with his family from Fort Smith and my parents. I almost missed that he was standing there!

Photo by Layers Photography via Bridal Musings

The Wedding Ceremonies & Style

We had two parts of our wedding. For the afternoon tea ceremony, we tried to keep things traditional Vietnamese, but it was definitely a more modern take. The wedding in the evening had a romantic feel with the darker flowers in the bouquets, greenery, gold elements, and candelabras.

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The Dress & Attire

For my wedding dress, I just loved how the sequins sparkled. It wasn’t like any dress I had tried on and I liked that. I also thought it would look pretty in the evening. My Vietnamese wedding dress was purchased online and made in Vietnam so I didn’t even get to try it on until it arrived. It’s completely custom-made so it fit great. I liked the vibrant red with the longer train and lace. Marc chose to rent from The Black Tux because he had a good previous experience and the quality was nice.

I wore my grandmother’s pearl necklace, necklace clip, and earrings for the tea ceremony and then the earrings for the ceremony. The tea ceremony had traditional elements but was definitely a modern take.

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Favorite Moments

My mom walking me down the stairs into the tea ceremony with everyone waiting was overwhelming but so special. The advice given by family during the tea ceremony was filled with so much love. My dad walking me down the aisle at the wedding ceremony and seeing all of our family and friends smiling back at me made me feel so supported and just thankful.

The most memorable, however, was when Marc and I took our vows. We have already been through so much together, and it was just felt amazing, and very emotional, to make the official commitment in front of family and friends.

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The Florals

For the tea ceremony, the family helped put together everything the night before and the day of which I appreciated so much. For the wedding, I wanted some darker flowers, greens, whites, and some pink for my bouquet and then lots of greenery for the reception. Cabbage Rose helped me out a lot because I really didn’t know what I wanted.

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The Cake

PattiCakes does a wonderful lemon cake, and I love lemon cake. For the decoration on the cake, I just wanted a white or off white icing with similar flowers as my bouquet. They gave me some ideas on how they could place the flowers, but I trusted them to do what they thought looked best.