Vietnamese-American Cultural Wedding | Hollins House Santa Cruz

Nov 12

Excited to finally share H & S’ beautiful summer wedding in Santa Cruz, where we blended modern California charm and meaningful Vietnamese traditions to truly reflect who they are as a couple. From the beginning of our planning journey, we wanted their wedding to be bright, welcoming, and personal.

A Day of Style and Celebration

For their wedding colors, we worked together with the couple to complement the venue and the couple’s color preferences. We went with a rustic summer palette of warm yellows, burnt orange, peaches, and greens.

The bride and groom’s styles absolutely shined throughout the day! The bride began the day in a romantic white ceremony gown for her First Look, and then transitioned into a breathtaking traditional Vietnamese áo dài, symbolizing prosperity, luck, and happiness, for the Ceremony. The groom joined in the tradition with his own matching red áo dài and had a light beige khaki suit to match our color palette and the seasonality of their wedding day. For the final part of the celebration, the bride changed into a fun dancing reception dress that allowed her to move and mingle with ease. The bridal party glowed in their elegant traditional áo dài in light yellow, creating a seamless blend of cultural heritage and modern design.

Honoring Heritage with a Vietnamese Tea Ceremony

We started the wedding celebrations with a Vietnamese tea ceremony, also known as Đám Hỏi. This ceremony is an important pre-wedding tradition in Vietnamese culture — a formal meeting of the two families to honor ancestors, offer tea, and express respect and gratitude to parents and elders. It represents the union of two families, not just two individuals.

Guests were invited to partake in this special ceremony. The bridal party started the processional. Groomsmen carried gift trays with gifts of fruit, candy, pandan rice cakes with mung bean, moon cakes, sticky rice, and wine. They presented gift trays to the Bridesmaids and they placed these trays at the altar. The bride’s and groom’s mothers lit candles and the couple lit incense. Following 3 ceremonial bows to the familes and to one another, the couple exchanged their wedding rings and moved into the Vietnamese Tea Ceremony! Important family members and foster family members were served tea and blessings and gifts were exchanged.

For H & S, it was a deeply meaningful way to celebrate their Vietnamese heritage and to bring their families together in love and tradition.

Good Food, Good Music, and Good Fun

With sweeping views of Santa Cruz’s rolling hills and ocean breeze, H & S made sure that their celebration had something for everyone! Guests enjoyed a new American lunch filled with fresh favorites, followed by Asian-inspired desserts — refreshing boba drinks and chewy mochi donuts.

The day wrapped up with lively rounds of karaoke in Vietnamese and English, where friends and family joined in to sing their hearts out. It was one of those moments where you could feel the laughter, and connection between everyone present.

We’re so grateful to have been part of this journey — from the planning and design to the laughter and love that filled the day. Cheers to H & S on their (belated) first anniversary!

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