Married: October 27, 2018
Bridal Prep:
Ceremony: Holy Name of Jesus
Reception: Crystal Palace
Band/DJ: DJ M-Cue
Bakery: Chasing Wang
Vietnamese Wedding

How did you meet?
We initially met through our mutual friend, Kim (who would later become the maid of honor). She thought that we would be a great match as she knew both of our personalities really well. I was not keen on being set up initially, but Duy took matters in his own hands a few months after we met and poked me on Facebook (circa 2011). The rest is history. 🙂

Include a little bit about yourselves. What do you do?
Duy is a petroleum engineer for an oil & gas company and Lynda is an optometrist. We’re both proud LSU alumni. We chose our wedding date with intent- it was LSU’s bye week. We live in Dallas now but Louisiana will always be home to us.

what is your favorite thing about each other? Share a personal story.
My favorite thing about Duy is how genuinely kind he is. He’s always willing to help anyone and he never bats an eye. One night, much before we really knew each other, I needed help moving my things into my friend Kim’s house. Duy was coming to Baton Rouge from Lafayette to visit friends, and Kim asked him to help me move. Without question, he spent his entire visit helping me move all my things and then drove back home to Lafayette that night so that he could be back at work the next day. That was the first time I really noticed what a great human being this guy is.

Duy: My favorite thing about her is her drive. She’s worked hard to establish a good career and she continues striving to help her family and grow professionally.

How did the proposal go? Who proposed to who, were you surprised?
Duy initially had plans to propose on the field at Tiger Stadium. Due to the inclement weather on the day of the proposal, he had to change plans to the LSU Hilltop Arboretum. I was in Dallas that summer for my optometry school externship. I thought he was flying me in to Baton Rouge to surprise my friend Nancy but little did I know, all my friends were in on it. It was important to Duy that all of my closest friends were present for the proposal. My friends made helped me get my nails done, skin glowing, and very dressed up at 10:00 am for a “friend’s brunch”, and then led me to the empty Hilltop Arboretum for pictures. It was there that Duy was waiting to propose. It was definitely a huge surprise and it took me a while to actually process what was going on!

Where was your ceremony held and why did you pick this site?
Our ceremony was held at the Holy Name of Jesus Church on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Lynda spent her first year of college at Loyola University New Orleans and loved the church, and we wanted to be able to easily access Audubon Park to take photos after the ceremony.

Where was your Reception held and why did you pick this site?
We had our reception at Crystal Palace Ballroom on the West Bank. We picked this site because we had a traditional Vietnamese wedding and it was important that we chose a venue that was beautiful and one that catered Vietnamese cuisine.

What unique or special things did you do at the reception? 
We hired Hansen’s Sno-Bliz to cater their famous delicious snowballs. We also had glow stick and glow glasses for our guests to dance with

Pick one moment in the day that was your favorite thing?
Lynda’s favorite moment of the day was saying our personal, handwritten vows to each other.

Duy’s favorite moment of the day was Lynda meeting me at the end of the aisle and her dad told me that he was giving his blessing to give his daughter away.

Did it really go by as quickly as everyone says?
Absolutely. It feels like the day went by in the blink of an eye.

What was the inspiration behind picking the color palette and decor that you picked?
Duy’s favorite color is blue and Lynda’s favorite color is purple. We wanted to incorporate both colors while also keeping it coordinated with our fall wedding. Thus, we went with navy blue and dusty purple, which is a gorgeous color combination in our opinion. 🙂 Lynda has always loved rustic chic elements so we had to have that as our theme, but we wanted it to be rustic chic with a modern twist, since that theme has been long played out.

From the Bride – When you first saw the groom, what were you thinking/feeling?
I was thinking of how blessed I am to marry this guy and how handsome he looked.

From the groom – When you first saw the bride, what were you thinking/feeling?
Nervous and anxious. It was like the moment we first went on a date where butterflies come out and you don’t know what to do.

Who was your baker, what was the flavor of your cake? Was it delicious?!
We chose Chasing Wang to be our baker. Kieu is a personal friend of Lynda’s since her early college days and her work is breathtaking, so it was a no brainer. We had almond pistachio buttercream, pandan, and chocolate flavors. Of course it was delicious and our guests raved about the cake.

Did you do a first look? 
No, we did not do a first look. I wanted to keep it traditional and have Duy see me in the dress for the first time as I entered the church. Additionally, we feel that it might have been a little awkward for us to do a first look. No regrets!

Did you have a coordinator or did you plan everything yourself? If you didn’t have a coordinator any advice for brides planning their own wedding?
We had Diem Le help coordinate the decor design concept and Sean Nguyen coordinate on the day of the wedding. Diem helped guide and execute our vision, while Sean made the wedding weekend go by absolutely so smoothly. It is not easy to plan a long-distance wedding, and having our coordinators made it so invaluable to us.

What was your first dance song? Why this song?
We choose “How Would You Feel” by Ed Sheeran. We love Ed Sheeran’s songs and we felt that it was a good, slow melody (with great lyrics to boot) for us to dance to.

Band or DJ? Did they rock it?
Lynda’s childhood and close friend, DJ M-Cue based in Houston, TX. He absolutely rocked it and had everyone on the dance floor!

We want to hear YOUR advice for future brides.
Things will go wrong but just try to let it roll off your back and keep the big picture in mind- you are marrying the love of your life. It will go by so quickly and you won’t get this day back, so don’t let the small things affect you. Be happy and soak in the moment.