Theresa & Toan's Wedding. San Jose

Ceremony at Church of the Ascension in Saratoga and reception at Grand Fortune Seafood Restaurant in San Jose.

Finally, July 7, 2007, my big Vietnamese wedding! How cool was it to shoot a wedding on such an anticipated date? I wonder what it will be like next year with January 6, 2008 (168) or August 8, 2008 (888)? You know how the Chinese love numerology ;) Just check out some of their license plates.

I arrived at the home of Toan's parents at around 8:30am for some quick shots of the groom's family preparing gifts and getting ready for the tea ceremony held later in the afternoon. The day's first event took place at the home of Theresa's parents. Per tradition, Toan, the groomsmen, parents, and other family members and friends presented gifts to Theresa's family. Toan and Theresa then poured tea for important family members and burned incense for ancestors. Next came a western church ceremony followed by a similar tea and acceptance ceremony at the groom's home. But wait, we are not done! In the evening there was a huge reception for a few hundred friends and family members. Throughout the banquet family and friends performed Karaoke. Parents of the bride and groom were especially popular entertainers. Amazingly, at the end of the night Theresa and Toan were still all smiles.

In between, we had a nice block of time for picture taking! Yay for me :) We visited a wonderful location in downtown San Jose where I swear it seemed like people congratulated the couple every 30 seconds.