1. Real Weddings

Jeannine & Thien: A Cultural Wedding in Arlington, TX

How do you top off 13 years of true love? High school sweethearts Jeannine and Thien did it with an enormous wedding celebration that blended Western,

How do you top off 13 years of true love? High school sweethearts Jeannine and Thien did it with an enormous wedding celebration that blended Western, Chinese, and Vietnamese traditions. The Bride Jeannine Koay, 28, physician The Groom Thien Hoang, 29, small business owner The Date June 21

A four-tier, lemon-orange-flavored confection covered in white rolled fondant; each layer was wrapped in satin ribbon with pink hydrangeas between each tier.
Jeannine assembled the favors: Red Chinese take-out containers (purchased at The Container Store) filled with chocolate-covered cherry sour candies and accented with gold chopsticks and ribbon.
Lavish decorations carefully chosen to reflect an Asian-American theme filled the reception space at Empress Palace. Tables were named with Chinese characters and the English translations, such as happiness and love. Thien and I initially wanted to have our reception in a more formal setting, but we couldn't find a location to accommodate our number of guests-more than 500-and provide the menu that we wanted, Jeannine says. Luckily, Empress Palace specializes in both-it can hold up to 1,000 guests.
Jeannine's bouquet included pink mini calla lilies, pink and cerise roses, pink peonies, and pink cockscomb, while her maids had hot pink and red charlotte roses, red tamango spray roses, hot pink cockscomb, and hot pink gomphrena.
The Traditions
Jeannine's five bridesmaids wore light pink satin dresses with a darker pink ribbon at the waist designed and sewn by Shirley Inzar, the bride's family friend.
In the morning on their wedding day, Jeannine and Thien held a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at her parents' home. Jeannine wore an ao dai, or traditional Vietnamese dress, designed by the mother of the groom. Close friends and family came bearing gifts, and the couple served tea as a sign of respect for their parents and elders. Each guest then presented Jeannine and Thien with a red envelope containing money (hong bao), symbolizing their wishes of good luck and wealth for the two. Later, the couple exchanged vows in a traditional wedding ceremony at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, where the bride had been baptized years before.
Red and pink predominated in the dramatic floral designs -- from the low, candlelit arrangements to the towering mirrored columns with willow branches rising from the tops, red and pink roses dangling from each branch.