United with Love - Fresh Inspiration For DC-Area Weddings

Happy 2011 everyone!  We hope you enjoyed our week of inspiration last week and are ready for a fresh start with the new year.  We’re starting the year off with a wedding that is all about celebration and the blending of cultures and traditions.  Mai and Mark were married last April, with a traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony at a private home in Virginia followed by a civil wedding ceremony and reception at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC.  Vicky from Event Accomplished guided the day’s events, and the team of Tom and Ashlee from Documentary Associates was there to capture all of the celebratory details.

The day began with the Vietnamese ceremony in the morning, including a traditional preparation and exchange of gifts between the families that included a whole roast pig.  The bride and bridesmaids wore traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai.

After lunch, the wedding party moved over to the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC to change and prepare for the continuing celebrations later in the afternoon and evening.

Mai and Mark’s wedding color palette was yellow and pewter gray.  Mai carried a bouquet of yellow mini calla lilies, while the bridesmaids carried a bouquet of yellow dendrobium orchids that popped against their gray dresses.

Later that afternoon, the festivities continued with a civil wedding ceremony that included a Scottish handfasting ceremony (a nod to the groom’s heritage) of 13 ribbons – each symbolizing a different facet of their union and future life together.

We’ll be back soon with more from Mai and Mark’s wedding reception at the Carnegie Institution!

Photo Credit: Documentary Associates