The Vietnamese Wedding
The Harry Potter-Themed Reception
I somehow managed to squeeze into my 15-year old ao dai to attend my younger cousin’s wedding to her beau of 12 years this past weekend in Houston. She had a traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony which basically involved both families meeting at the bride’s house, giving thanks/blessings to our ancestors, receiving blessings from family, drinking tea, exchanging gifts, giving/receiving more well wishes from every family member in attendance, and eating lots of awesome Vietnamese food. Then the whole thing was repeated again at the groom’s house with the last stop being the Buddhist temple.
Day two of the wedding festivities took place at the amazing Petroleum Club in downtown Houston. Besides the killer views, the Petroleum Club had beautiful vintage mid-century details that can only be found in a building that was, at the end of 1960s, the tallest skyscraper West of the Mississippi (or so my sister tells me). We stuffed ourselves with mojitos and bacon-wrapped shrimp (especially mom), ate Harry Potter cake pops, participated in a surprise Harlem Shake, and took tons of pictures in the photo booth. Such a beautiful, fun, and heart-felt wedding — I couldn’t be happier for my cousin and her new hubby. Congrats, you two!
