If you dream of a destination wedding but bringing all the guests to somewhere far away that may occupy them for a couple of days is such an impossible mission, why don’t you think of some destinations close to your city?
Nam Anh and Sao Mai had their official wedding at a hotel in Hanoi, however, before that, they wanted to have some relaxing moments with their close friends at a private venue where they can drink, dance, and enjoy their time there till midnight.
Trang An Golf Court was chosen to hold this private party. Just 2 hours driving away from Hanoi, the venue is private enough for a party of 50 people while remains close enough for the guest to come and back to Hanoi in one day. And though this is a small party, the couple still wanted to have the ceremony, dining and party within a day.
Like many of our projects, the whole planning process had done in 2 months via email and skype as the couple lives outside Vietnam. During that time, the weather was humid, wet and some time rained constantly in couple of days which was a big concern for us as Nam Anh and Sao Mai planned to have an outdoor wedding.The reason that they chose Trang An Golf Court as the place to hold their wedding is because of the beautiful yard in front of the restaurants. And it would be such a big regret not to have the ceremony on this yard.
The open space where they had their ceremony there
Budget is another problem that we should consider. Since they will have weddings at different places and their expectation for two weddings are all high, as their wedding planners, we have to balance between their requirements and their finance but still maintain the high quality of the service.
Based on the scenery of the venue, we believe rustic white theme is the perfect choice for the party. Very simple and minimal decoration with white flowers is enough beside the impressive white dress code that all the guests strictly followed. One of our challenges is to make all the guests coming from different countries USA, Singapore, Vietnam, Hongkong feel connected and hyped througout the day. A special plan for the party after the dining was prepared carefully to make sure everyone have one of the most cherished night ever.
On the wedding day, we should have the whole morning to do the setup for the party, but things were not like we expected as it rained heavily. We kept the couple updated by phone and told them that we were preparing for the backup plan. No one wanted to change the plan but the situation showed no hope for an outdoor wedding. However, everything was changed just 1 hour before the wedding, the sun came up and we were running with the time to follow the initial plan.
They did exchange vows on the beautiful yard, under the sun with the witness of 50 friends. And that was a memorable moments for them and for us after a long day.
A 2-hour dinner was then followed by a lot of moving speeches made by the family and friends, and ended with a booming after-party in the utmost privacy and relaxation. On the next day, we were so proud to receive many positive feedbacks not only from the couple, but also from their friends and family.
During the whole process, the thing that impressed us the most was not the difficulties that we met on the wedding day but the way that Nam Anh – the groom took over the control of the wedding and showed a great caring for the bride and kept her out of worries for the wedding. All he wished were a worry free wedding for Sao Mai – his special woman.
Above all, love is the greatest!
One of the reasons that makes Nam Anh and Sao Mai’s friendparty was special to us is because the groom is a friend of Van – our wedding planner in high school.
Planning wedding for your friends is a pleasure as well as a challenge as you need to keep your emotions outside the work. Things that you normally do not talk like prices, principles and requirements have to be discussed frankly and openly. Glad that after the wedding, their friendship was tightened than ever!