Jeremy & NGa | ViEtnamese/Filipino Wedding at Oregon Golf Club

At this wedding, I realized what I want to do with my life. I want to document your family’s amazing traditions. Jeremy and Nga’s day was a whirlwind of everything I believe in, all day long. A community coming together to thoroughly, specifically, and in their way, honor tradition, each other, and feast and celebrate. What kind of wedding should you have? One that reflects you and your rhythms and traditions, the things that your life is made up of in your regular feasting, celebrating, and being together—but MORESO.

Something that can also make a wedding great is, believe it or not, packing in a bunch of stuff into the day. It’s like climbing the mountain all day and when you get to the end, you feel amazing. You don’t have time and the luxury to worry about the little details, you're just hanging onto this crazy-intense ride. Once you get to the reception, everyone is thoroughly ready to let loose and party. Jeremy and Nga had wedding planners and family on it, so they could just be along for the wild ride.

They had next-level endurance, and relaxed and present to boot. Tea ceremony, breakfast with family, ceremony, then large group photos (not for the faint of heart), then a nice break, then a reception with games perfectly suited to the crowd. For this wedding, the couple knew the family who was coming, and they knew how to make it special for them. They told me “table greetings and karaoke”. I heard: boring typical table greetings and boring typical karaoke night. But they knew their people!

Take the karaoke, for example. It was early, 6:30 when it started and I was thinking, there is no way anyone has drunk enough or is bold enough to stand in front of these 300+ guests and sing a song! Wrong. There were plenty of bold family and friends who stepped up and knew their assignment. Some singers got people up dancing. Others made little cousins cover their ears because of bad pitch, but made others laugh with joy.

Then you have the table greetings—each table had a designated spokesperson, so they would give a toast or a piece of advice. And it was thought-through and personal and pointed. Some turned it into a game and made the couple or bride and groom jump through a hoop before they would get their table envelopes that were filled with “green blessings”. Including but not limited to: arm wrestling a cousin, being blindfolded and having to tell whose hands are your wife’s, etc. Was the most fun I’ve ever had photographing “table shots”, bar none.

Another thing that is vital to make your day a smashing success is to have people you can trust to hand over the reins so you can relax and enjoy all the things. There were too many—SO many—moving parts to this wedding, so a huge thank you to the amazing vendor team!

@yourperfectbridesmaid
@litproductions503
@oregongcevents
@macweddingfilms
@whitelotusliondance

There is so much more I could write about this wedding, but I will let my photos do the rest of the storytelling. Buckle up, it’s a long one! Shoutout to Louis, second-shooting for me like a champ after a hiatus.

The bridesmaids packing up her wedding dress for the church.

Nga pacing back and forth as friends and family begin to arrive for the tea ceremony.

The bridesmaids pinning boutonnieres on the groomsmen before they head in.

All the groom’s family stays outside the gate until they are welcomed, and then they all head in. Once everyone is in, Jeremy heads back out to get Nga.

Jeremy hugging his dad.

The Uhaul for all their wedding stuff acted as a great white reflector for the bridal party photos.

Heading up to change again (outfit #3).

Friends and family starting to sing karaoke—it was only 6:30pm and they were already singing their hearts out.

The Lion Dance: A traditional Asian performance art where dancers mimic a lion’s movements to bring good luck, prosperity, and fortune.

Jeremey and Nga—greeting tables of their guests, but with a spin. Each table seemed to come up with something for the bride and groom to do. This one was, blind fold the groom and have different people take his hand and he has to guess which one was Nga. Guess correct and get the gifts from the table, guess wrong and don’t.

Arm wrestling challenge with one of Nga’s cousins.

Late-night snacks are a must if you want a good party!