The wedding was held at the famous Nam Hai Resort Hoi An and it was everything you would expect from such a prestigious resort, overlooking their palm tree lined pool and private beach. We then made our way back to The Palm Garden Resort Hoi An for dinner and dancing on the beach late into the night.

Superb organisation, stunning resorts, and great guests! Thanks to everyone for a  really wonderful wedding.

Aidan

Slideshow

“At the beginning of June I photographed Helena and Ade, a lovely young couple from Jakarta, in Saigon. The two of them were great subjects, had lots of ideas for style – from classic to street to traditional – and had chosen some beautiful locations. We started early one morning at Notre Dame Cathedral, visited a few more places around the centre, and then finished up in the evening at the Fine Art Museum and Jade Emperor Pagoda. I wish them all the best for their wedding this November and for their future together.”

You can see more at Dominic’s blog Needs Cheese!

Ly & Ali brought us back to the Vietnam capital for their splendid wedding at the Sheraton Hotel on West Lake, Hanoi. The morning was spent at Ly’s family home in Hai Ba Trung District  before making our way to Tay Ho where The Sheraton put on a spectacular feast in their ballroom.

We loved to be photographing  back in Hanoi and want to thank Ly and Ali so much for giving us the opportunity to do so at their wonderful wedding.

The ceremony was originally booked for Nha Trang Cathedral but unfortunately it was realised near to their big day that it fell on Maundy Thursday and they were going to be in full preparation for Easter. However The Sheraton’s new Sky Lounge made the perfect venue and Father Tien from the cathedral even came down and conducted the ceremony. Just before sunset we made our way to The Cathedral for a quick photoshoot before heading back to The Sheraton for cocktails by the pool and a lavish reception overlooking the city.

Rob and Hoami are a genuinely lovely couple and I thank you who for making me feel so welcome. A special mention for Hoami’s Mum; all those beautiful bridesmaids dresses and indeed Hoami’s wedding gown too, well, she made them from scratch! Finally a big thanks to Nick, the GM at The Sheraton Nha Trang, who as well as running a tight ship let me use his family apartment for a much needed shower between the ceremony and the reception!

With the An Hoi and a wedding reception at each of their home towns, I spent 3 great days photographing Cuc and Huy’s celebrations. The first reception for 550 of their families and friends was held at The Sheraton Hotel Saigon and the hotel put on a quality reception. The second party was at Huy’s home in Binh Duong at a new weddings events hall, The Square, and that night they had over 1,500 guests!

There were so many photo/video crews that it was difficult to get a clean shot of the couple, so the incredible 135mm f2 lens played a big part of the night…

Thank you Cuc, Huy and Cuc’s sister Jenny who helped out so much with the organisation.

Aidan: I spent 3 wonderful days with Vinh, Jessica and their families and friends who had traveled over from the US to Vietnam for their wedding.

Starting out in Saigon for a photoshoot around the city, we were only 30 minutes into the day when I had my camera snatched by a passing motorbike! Luckily I had another body and lenses on me so after a quick composing coffee we carried on and made our way from Notre Dame Cathedral to Ben Thanh market and finally to the gardens around Saigon Zoo. They were such a game for a laugh and fun to be around that I didnt even think of the loss, although it hurt the next day!

After a couple of days relaxing in Mui Ne, I met up with them again in Nha Trang where we spent the morning taking pictures along the beach. The weather was unusually unsettled but stayed dry long enough for us to get some shots. That evening we had dinner at The Sailing Club and the storm hit; high winds and heavy rain throughout dinner but it didn’t phase anyone. Vinh and Jessica decided that whatever the weather the next day, and even if it meant everyone wearing rain coats, that they were going to have their wedding on the beach! Love that attitude!!

The wedding was to be held at The Evason Ana Mandara, one of the first and best resorts in Vietnam. In the morning Vinh and his family made his way from The Sunrise Hotel by cyclo to The Ana Mandara for the Don Dau ceremony. Despite having to move from the garden into the bar they both looked great in their Ao Dai.

In the afternoon, the sky was dark and it threatened to rain all day. But come the ceremony it stayed dry and they had their wedding on the beach! A beautiful ceremony was followed by a quick photoshoot before a spectacular buffet dinner and dancing and laughing long into the night.

Thank you to Vinh, Jessica, their families and friends for a wonderful week. And a special mention to Hoa at The Ana Mandara who brilliantly organised the whole wedding only to have a motorbike accident the night before. We hope you have fully recovered x

Slideshow song “Use Somebody” by Pixie Lott.

It was a real thrill to be asked to photograph her party and Trang and Duc were looking stunning as ever. Over 300 of their family and friends joined them in District 7 for a wonderful feast overlooking The Saigon River.

With Julian is Canada and Aidan on assignment in Nepal, a big thanks to Hanoi based photographer Dominic Blewett for helping  us out with this colourful wedding!

Dominic: “The Ly Club s a great venue and they threw a fine party for their awesome and eclectic group of friends. Thankyou to all of them for making me very much a part of the celebrations rather than just an observer, chup su khoe! I wish Marion and Camilla and all their friends a happy and fun-filled future together.”

Aidan: “Can you ride a jetski?” I asked.

“Is it a sit down or stand up? If it’s a stand up I can ride it backwards!”

Meet one cool Californian couple; Cody, the rock n roll sushi chef and his beautiful wife Van whom I had the pleasure of seeing 5 days running in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Nha Trang (Hon Tam Island) and Ho Chi Minh City. We spent the day at Hon Tam Eco Green Resort off Nha Trang for a post wedding shoot, with beautiful weather, banana rice wine and a lot of laughs!

Van’s family come from Hanoi and HCMC so they decided to spend the whole week with their family and close friends travelling through Vietnam with their wedding in Halong Bay. Thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome and a special mention to Haivenu Travel company for organising the trip so well.

Wedding images from Halong Bay coming soon!

10 seconds after taking this long exposure, the storm hit. Cody and Van had to scramble back along the rocks as the rain came down but they were duly rewarded after a long day with a 3 hour session in Hon Tam’s Spa!

And I couldn’t have hand-picked a better couple to shoot with if I wanted to. Ngoc and Tyler are one of the most fun and friendly couples I’ve had the luck to meet in this line of work. And to make it even tastier, Tyer is a kickass wedding photographer in the Bay Area, so it was great shooting another photographer and talking shop the whole time. We banged out some ideas on the fly together during the portrait shoot, and although you might think it would be stressful having another photographer as a client, it was actually really interesting and a whole lotta fun.

We managed to get in a morning shoot in Hoi An, nice and early before all the shops opened and tourists descended on the old town. Hoi An is great at that time of day, and you can just wander around and use the simple colors and lines of the old doors and walls to frame your images, before they get cluttered with Coca Cola stands and mannequins wearing garish clothes. It’s hard making a clean frame between 8am and 6pm in Hoi An, and getting up early always pays off.

In the afternoon we reconvened for ceremonies at Ngoc’s family’s home in Danang, and then headed out to a massive wedding hall for a much larger reception for friends and extended families, where we roamed from table to table toasting all the guests, as is Vietnamese custom (see last image below). It’s a great custom, showing respect to every guest that attends the reception, but the one problem is that the bride and groom never get a chance to eat, and after toasting 40-50 tables it can get a little exhausting. At the end of the day, we drove to a little fried chicken place and wolfed down some delicious food after a long day. A beautiful day. A long, beautiful day with wonderful people and amazing food (ask Ngoc and Tyler about the banh my stand in Hoi An. That woman is a sandwich artist!) And a whole lotta humidity. And beer. And on that note…. Một, hai, ba… Yo!