Spring Beauty: A Traditional Vietnamese Engagement Ceremony
Posted by Jason Kindig on Fri, Mar 23, 2012 @ 03:01 PM
I don’t know how many of you all have ever been to a Vietnamese engagement ceremony, but it is a pretty cool experience. When I proposed to Aynsley I of course asked her father and he obviously said yet. So that is the tradition that I followed. Then I planned an elaborate day to make sure that Aynsley would say yes as well. She did, by the way, and you can see how I proposed here. After the proposal we went out to celebrate with family and had a wonderful time.
For Mark and MinhTu, who have been dating for several years, they had a different set of traditions to follow, and I had the chance to come along as a Dallas event photographer to document everything. Their engagement ceremony was a formal proposal where Mark asked for MinhTu’s had in marriage. The ceremony began with Mark’s friends and family bringing gifts to present to MinhTu’s family and friends. Once her family accepted the gifts they all proceeded inside where both families were formally introduced to each other.
Shortly after, MinhTu was brought out by her mother, and the ceremony was underway. They went through various rituals including a tea ceremony where they served tea to the parents and grandparents. As a Dallas event photographer I love shooting emotion, and of course there was plenty of that at this special engagement ceremony and everyone was very excited. There were lots of tears of joy as well. Then out came the little box and she said yes.
After the ceremony came several family portraits as well as some portraits of the newly engaged couple. As a Dallas event photographer I love taking pictures of newly engaged couples. I often have very little time to do these types of portrait sessions during events, especially weddings, as there are so many things going on and people have to get on to something else or the reception. However, Mark and MinhTu wanted me to take all the time I needed, so we took some portraits near a tree that had just come in to full bloom, and then took a walk around the block.
Those moments are full of so much emotion, excitement and love. I like to let the couples interact and get photos of them being together, and not just shots of them together smiling at the camera. These can be some of the best moments. I hope you enjoy!
