This wedding is just all sorts of beautiful and adorable. The mint and the pink was such a refreshing color palette that it was such a delight looking over these photos. Their details, which were also made to be visually pleasing, will just fill you up with ideas on how to make everyone remember your wedding day. From the stationary, bouquet, ensemble, cake, and even hair pieces, we’re sure you’ll love this wedding as much as we did. Congratulations, Jennifer & Vu!
Bride
What is your story as a couple, how did you meet & fall in love?
Jan. 2010: Vu went on his annual GUYS ONLY snowboarding trip to Mammoth Lakes. It was there that Vu decided to attempt his first black diamond run for his 28th Birthday! Sadly, he did not make it down the entire run and instead broke his left arm and spent the remainder of his birthday celebration in the hospital.
Feb. 2010: Vu began treatment at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists in Bee Caves, where Jen had been working as a PT Tech since 2008. Chris Stanley (PT) and Jen (PT Tech) led Vu through his intensive yet speedy recovery program. Though Vu had started off a timid and shy patient not believing his arm would go back to full functionality, he quickly regained all strength and flexibility and was discharged by April 7th, 2010. With only two months of knowing each other, Jen and Vu knew it was only the beginning of something greater to come.
June 2011: After over a year since Vu’s last visit from the clinic, Jen used good ole Facebook to reconnect with Vu. She contacted him to follow-up on his recovery (because all good PT Techs contact their patients after a year…sorta…not really…). After many sweet and rather flirtatious messages back and forth, they finally decided to meet up and had their first date on June 26th 2011.
What makes the two of you a perfect match?
Vu and I are both very giving individuals. We have this love for life that brings us so much happiness and gratification for family/friends that surround us. We love to share our adventures and experiences together, we have endless/pointless conversations, we’re a very joyful couple, and we both love to lend a helping hand and find ways to make other people happy too! I love that we’re both always open to learn and try new things!
How did he (or you) propose?
April 2013: On the Saturday after Jen’s 27th Birthday, Vu took Jen to brunch at Four Seasons where they ravished in delicious foods and drinks. After brunch, Vu sneakingly persuaded Jen to go for a stroll at Butler Park. This park is special because it marks the spot of their 2nd date together. Unbeknownst to Jen why Vu would want to walk around after a full belly of food, she decided to go along. As they walked up the hill, she noticed Vu was strangely taking a lot of pictures of the grassy area. In retrospect, he was “taking pictures” to scan the area to make sure his photographer was in position for the proposal! It was at the top of the hill where Vu got down on one knee and asked Jen to marry him. Vu had designed the most shiny and gorgeous ring for his bride-to-be. On the drive home, Jen was in a complete euphoric state, she didn’t know who to call first! As they turned into her neighborhood, she noticed that balloons, tables and chairs were set up in her good friend, Tina’s backyard. Vu had planned a surprise engagement party with all of their friends and family!! Vu had been planning the proposal and engagement party for 4 months! Jen and Vu enjoyed the rest of the day being merry with friends, family, drinks, yummy crawfish and BBQ.
How long was the planning process? Did you think it was enough time?
We got engaged on April 20th, 2013 and we were married on April 26th, 2014. Exactly a year for planning and I think it was ample amount of time.
What was the best advice you received when you were planning your wedding?
Breathe and remember what’s truly important! During the planning process, it can be a lot of “business/financial talk” or “what will make mom and dad the proudest.” We often times had to stop and remember what the meaning of this wedding meant to US and reprioritize what was the utmost importance and what was at the bottom of the list.
What tips & tricks (can we use “hacks”?) can you share future brides that you yourself have learned during and after your wedding?
Be resourceful. We reused a lot of things from the ceremony to the reception- Center pieces: some tables used the plants from the ceremony and some of my bridesmaids bouquets were used for other centerpieces and for the dessert table. Frames: we re-used frames with different signs for the ceremony and reception. Just keep the printed signs inside the frames to make the switch easier. Tables & Chairs: we re-used the ceremony tables/chairs for the sign in, gifts and bar at the reception.
What were some challenges you faced while planning your wedding & what did you do to address them?
Our biggest obstacle was not getting married in a Catholic church. My husband’s family is Catholic, so we had to work it out with his parents about having an outdoor/non-denominational wedding. It was a tough conversation, but in the end they agreed and were supportive of our decision.
What inspired your wedding décor? Why did you choose the things that you did?
I really wanted an outdoor wedding with trees! We both hike a lot and are very outdoorsy people, therefore we wanted our wedding to be outdoors and have a very simple and laid back feeling. Nothing was overdone or extravagant. Everything was simple and to the point. We chose family style for dinner, so we didn’t want big center pieces which saved money. We wanted guests to feel comfortable and relaxed.
What was the wedding budget?
$40,000- $45,000
Where did you save the most money?
We saved a lot of money with the flowers. We were creative on how to re-use the flowers in different areas of the wedding.
What was the biggest expense?
Catering and Photography. We wanted the guests to leave with delicious and enjoyable food to remember. We also wanted to be able to take something away from the wedding that we would remember forever, so we splurged on these two things!
How many guests were invited in your wedding and what was the final guest count?
320 guests were invited and final guest count was 210. We knew a lot of the people we invited would not attend, so that’s why we over invited. We have a lot of family outside the USA, and we knew they wouldn’t be able to attend.
How did you narrow down your list?
We really had to think about who was a close friend of ours. Questions like “would I notify this friend if/when I get pregnant?” “how often do we see/talk to this friend?” We definitely have some good friends that we see here and there, but there are friends that always remain close to you through out your friendship, and that’s how we narrowed it down. It was definitely a very tough process! Family, of course, is a given!
What songs did you use during the ceremony?
We had a string quartet play the following
Processional: Keane- Somewhere Only We Know
Bride Entrance: Jason Mraz- I’m Yours
Recessional: Up- Married Life
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We took a very short mini-moon to Playa Mujeres right after our wedding. Our real honeymoon is in Italy this November 2014.
What are you most excited about for the future?
I’m excited for all the adventures to come our way! Travel adventures, joyful/tearful adventures, baby adventures, family/friends adventures, everything! We’re both very happy and excitable people and I love that we both can find so much joy in the smallest things together!
Do you have advice for couples still in the planning process?
Make a wedding mantra! This will help you prioritize all the different aspects of a wedding and it will help you keep your head on straight. It’s easy to lose track of what’s really important because there are so many cool, and very expensive, wedding inventions out there now! Especially with all the various wedding blogs, magazines, and Pinterest! Bring yourself back to reality and remember what is truly important for your marriage and what defines a wedding for you two.
What inspired the wedding day outfits?
We had a Spring wedding, so we knew we wanted grey suits for the groom and groomsmen. The bow tie and ties were custom made to match our coral and mint color scheme. Since Texas can be a little hot in April, I wanted the girls to have short flowy dresses to avoid getting too sweaty while standing outdoors for the ceremony. The girls got to pick their style of the BM dresses because I wanted them to be comfortable.
What was your favorite part of the day?
Favorite part of the day was definitely the getting ready part. There’s a lot of anticipation and anxiety and excitement running in our veins all day and night! It’s nerve wrecking and so much fun all at the same timedefinitely an emotional roller coaster!
Was there any Do it Yourself (DIY) projects? If so, can you describe them in detail?
- Vu designed everything and anything on paper- Save the Date, Wedding Invitations (RSVP card, directions, etc), Hotel Welcome Notes, Wedding Programs, Reception Thank You Notes, Menus, Thank you Cards
- All signs- guest book, welcome, cheer flags, seating chart, bar, restroom.
- Cheer Flags for guests to wave after we got married at the ceremony- “yay!” “Congrats” “Team Jen” “Team Vu” Facebook thumbs up Vietnamese and Chinese words for “Congrats”
- Cornhole Boards
- Storyboard of how we met- My niece sketched a storyboard of how we met and we enlarged it and used it as decor.
- Guest book sign in album
- Table Numbers with pictures- Tables were named after our favorite/meaningful Austin spots.
- Hotel Welcome Bags- our favorite candies, chocolates, chips, water, and welcome note with directions.
What were the highlights from the ceremony & reception?
Ceremony- Hearing Vu cry through out the whole time he read his written vows to me. It was so sweet and genuine, and way more crying on his end than I had anticipated! Reception- Watching our wedding intro video that Vu made for the guests to see. It was so much hard work and all the guests enjoyed it so much!
Was there a theme for the ceremony and reception?
Rustic Chic.
Links to Wedding Videos?
Mother/Son Dance
Father/Daughter Dance:
Welcome Intro Video:
Wedding Highlight Film:
Wedding Short Film:
PW: jnv
What part of the ceremonies do you think was the most memorable for you? (& your guests?)
- The Food- so many guests still rave about our caterers! They loved the short ribs and pulled pork sandwiches the most!
- Reading our written vows to each other.
- Seeing Vu cry at our First Look and during the ceremony.
- Dancing with our parents for mother/son and father/daughter.
- Vu and I going around and greeting each table for pictures and to say “hello” and “thanks for coming!”
- Having alone time with Vu right after the ceremony to soak it all in!
Vendors
Event Planners: The Simplifiers- Jordan Adams
Ceremony & Reception: Sacred Oaks at Camp Lucyh
Florals: Posey
Catering: Pink Avocado
Cake: Sweet Treets Bakery
Videographer: Spinning Leaf Films
Photographer: Cory Ryan
Ceremony Music: Arundel Ensemble
DJ: Spacecraft Entertainment- DJ Tyler
Lighting: Houndstooth Studio
Rentals: Whim Event Rentals– and Premiere Party Central
J+V Letters: Native Woods Texas
Cake Topper: Etsy- Silhouette Weddings
Hair: Slate Hair Salon (Sammy Lou)
Makeup: Adore Makeup Boutique (Dash Harris)
Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero- The Samantha
Floral Sash: Vera Wang
Wedding Shoes: Heels- Betsey Johnson; Flats- Toms
Bridesmaids Dresses: Etsy- RenzRags
Jen’s Boudoir Photographer: Tiffany Tagle
Vu
Hair: Finley’s Barber Shop (Cody Thompson)
Suit: Indochino
Shoes: Cole Haan
Bow Tie & GM Ties: Etsy- The Belle and the Beau
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