A Multicultural Wedding in North Carolina Honoring Vietnamese, Swedish and American Culture

Vimy and Andrew tied the knot in Raleigh, North Carolina, but the inspiration for their wedding was global. Vietnamese, Swedish and American elements came together in their multicultural wedding at Shiki Sushi. "When we were planning our wedding we knew that we wanted a winter wedding and to honor our culture roots so our wedding was a blend of Vietnamese, Swedish and American cultures with a mountain/evergreen forest wintery wonderland flair," Vimy says. "Since Vietnamese weddings have long-standing traditions, we had the traditional red (bride) and blue (groom) outfits that we wore during our private Vietnamese tea ceremony and showcased to the rest of our guests during the reception, which was held at a sushi restaurant, Shiki Sushi, because of our love for sushi. For the American ceremony, we knew that we were going to marry at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral because it was the diocese that I had grown up in and the first church that Andrew and I had started going to Sunday mass together. Inside of the cathedral, it is always beautifully light with glistening white marble floors and white pillars so we wanted a contrast with that while keeping in mind the winter wonderland theme and so we chose navy, silver, and light blue as our main colors. With our wedding being in February we really wanted to have a winter wonderland kind of theme that gave a nod to Andrew's Swedish roots, so we had dark green and silver evergreen garlands dusted with fake snow surrounding candle lit lanterns as décor for our reception." 

Although the couple's wedding day began with a traditional Catholic mass, the couple found a special way to personalize the service. When it came to their music selections, they chose "a Vietnamese wedding song that was sung by my aunt and uncle during communion and just a single piece for all the entrances, including the bride's," Vimy says. The personalized music choices continued at the reception, too. The couple shared their first dance to the theme song from Howl's Moving Castle, "Merry Go Round for Life." But the nods to Miyazaki didn't stop their. "Since we love boardgames and anime, especially Miyazaki's work, we had a giant Jenga block tower as our nontraditional guest book and pixel heart soaps as our wedding favors," shares Vimy. Another fun, and non-traditional, part of the reception was the couple's "bouquet" toss. Instead of tossing her floral bouquet, Vimy opted for a Pusheen toss where she threw one of the iconic stuffed animals. Some of the other highlights of the reception included the couple's Zelda-inspired topper for their wedding cake (flavored with strawberry and passion fruit) and the hydrangea and ranunculus floral details seen throughout.