The cure for the common wedding video

I had the distinct honor of documenting Kristyn and Vinnie’s wedding day this past Saturday. I tell you, if you have to spend 16 hours with someone, you can do alot worse than these two wonderful people. Kristyn has a heart of gold and probably one of the most radiant smiles I’ve ever captured and Vinnie is a proud member of the US Army who just finished serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. As I said, great folks. Now back to the wedding…..

If you’ve ever attended or took part in a Vietnamese wedding ceremony, then you know you’re in for a long day.

My day started at 8am at the bride’s house where I covered Kristyn getting her hair and makeup

At 10am, it was time for the traditional Tea Ceremony where the bride and groom offer tea to all their family members.

After the tea ceremony, we broke for lunch and enjoyed roasted pig, sticky rice, and pho. It’s simply impossible to leave a Vietnamese wedding hungry. Talk about great eating all day.

At 2pm, it was time to get back to work and capture their Catholic Ceremony which was held at the beautiful Martyr’s Catholic Church in Arlington, TX.

At 6pm, me and my assistant drove down the street to Thanh Thanh Restaurant for the reception which included the bride and groom visiting every table to thank each of the guests for attending their wedding as well as the cake cutting, bouquet toss, and the first dance. I have to stop right here and say that their first dance was one of the more emotional first dances I’ve had the honor of capturing. But why take my word for it when you can see for yourself? Here’s their preview….



Joining me that day was my long time associate videographer, Pete Cuellar of Video by Cuellar. I had a chance to check out his footage while putting together the special preview and he got some great stuff. Thanks for putting in some extra hours that day. Really appreciate it!

I also had the pleasure of working with QC Cong of XO Photography again and I can’t wait to see his interpretation of the wedding we shot together. Judging from the pics on his site, it should be something special. The coordinator that day was Cynthia of Catering Services and let me tell you, she’s a multi-tasker. Not only did she make sure things ran smoothly, she also sang at the ceremony and played MC for the bouquet toss. It was also cool to see how she involved her entire family in the day. Her husband and two daughters all pitched in in some way and it was a just a treat working with all of them. Their number is 817-874-3834.

Vietnamese Weddings are very colorful events and if you want to find out more about them, you can read this Wiki entry. Congratulations Kristyn and Vinnie! Enjoy Europe!

Chris W