I attended my first Vietnamese wedding over the weekend. It was such an interesting and enjoyable experience. My team and I helped to set up the above wedding reception table as part of the gift to the bride.
Congratulations to H & G!

A couple of thoughts on a Vietnamese wedding;

• The sitting arrangement was more flexible. I.e. 3 tables were assigned to colleagues and we can choose to sit anywhere in these 3 tables.
• The wedding was kick-started by a dance performance.  The performance was a gift from the event organizer as a blessing to the newly weds.
• The father of the groom gave a speech vs. the newly weds themselves
• 5-6 dishes were typically served vs. the 8-10 in Singapore. No wonder the Vietnamese are so slim! 🙂

• Hot pot is a common dish in a Vietnamese wedding!
• There were no screening of videos or powerpoint slides (Which is so common in Singapore weddings). The entertainment throughout the wedding was a continuous singing session by some of the guests. This music was too loud for my liking- it was very difficult to even talk to the person sitting besides you.
• The wedding dinner was short and ended in less than 2 hours.
• Money is the preferred gift. You should put the notes into the envelope of the invitation card vs. a red packet. The gift amount is dependent on the friendship and not where the wedding is conducted. I.e. the gift amount can be the same in a classier hotel or a dingy restaurant.

And of course, the entire ceremony was conducted in Vietnamese – which reminded me of the campus events I used to attend in Saigon. Maybe it’s time to learn a little more Vietnamese other than “Hai Ba Trung, Kumho” (direction to Intercontinental Asiana Saigon). 😛

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