Adrian + Joanne by Lei Lei Clavey - Together Journal

Our vision for the wedding was architectural, minimal, elegant, classy and modern. We thought it’d be perfect to host a tea ceremony at our home in Richmond. That meant we could capture some special portraits in our beautiful home as well as around the neighbourhood we love.

Joanne ——My parents migrated from Malaysia to the US, and then settled in Australia 35 years ago. I was born in Melbourne and work as a pharmacist at a children’s hospital. Adrian was also born and raised in Melbourne, although his family were refugees from Vietnam. He works as a dentist in South Melbourne and we have a dog, Aiko. We met through mutual friends. Adrian had a girlfriend at the time but I did think he was handsome. Adrian later found me on Facebook and we started chatting and he eventually asked me out for dinner. I was so late that Adrian had time to Google conversation topics. Despite my lateness, it was a wonderful first date.

Adrian planned his proposal for months. We were in Tuscany in July 2019 and Adrian mentioned he’d planned a cooking class and winery tour, some of my favourite activities. When our food was brought to the table, we were serenaded by a guitarist who Adrian had emailed sheet music to months earlier. When the guitarist played our favourite song, Adrian asked me to stand. I said no and immediately started sobbing. He got down on one knee, recited his speech, and asked me to marry him. I asked, “Are you sure?”

I always knew I wanted to hire an áo dài, the traditional Vietnamese red wedding dress and hat, to show respect to Adrian’s Vietnamese background. It consists of a shirt with a long front and back, split at the sides to the waist, silky wide-legged, floor-length pants and hat. Red is an auspicious colour to wear to a wedding. My aunt also had some red cheongsams, traditional Chinese dresses, to reflect my background. Although I hadn’t planned to hire a second dress for the tea ceremony, as soon as I tried it on, I instantly fell in love. It was fun having two beautiful red traditional wedding dresses, as well as the white wedding dress I wore the following week.

Adrian’s tuxedo was custom-made by a friend of his. It features a double-breasted corduroy blazer with satin lapels and turn-back cuffs. The wool pants are high-waisted and feature in-built buttons for the suspenders. The shirt was also custom-made. Adrian has since had three other suits made by his friend, as well as the groomsmen’s suits for the wedding day. A red rose boutonniere was chosen to match my traditional dresses and also pop against the black and white.