Thao + Brice - Western Wedding by Be There Photo - Together Journal

It’s such a gorgeous, classic, and historical space.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We’re Brice and Thao. We live in Orange County, California. Thao grew up in Orange County, whereas Brice grew up in Singapore. Brice is an introverted extrovert, and Thao is an extroverted introvert. That means that we love going out and spending time with our loved ones, but we also need a lot of time to recuperate at home after. Brice loves routine and order, whereas Thao thrives in chaotic environments (but she’s very organized when she has to be). She’s actually the planner of the two of us. Our personalities are very different, but our outlook on life is in sync.

We both have so many things we love to do: skiing, scuba diving, pottery, art, hiking, gardening, travelling, reading, playing games, cooking, baking, eating, etc. We’re the couple that’s always down to try new things and explore new places.

T: I definitely used the wedding as an excuse to take up new hobbies and learn new skills.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met our freshman year in college, where we lived on the same floor – the way our building worked was that our apartments were separated by gender, but there were male and female apartments on the same floor. The two apartments that we lived in became one big group of friends who hung out. A lot of us are still close friends today!

B: Honestly, I don’t remember much from when we first met, but I do recall having a good impression of Thao – that she was cool and a fun person. It made me want to be friends through the college years, even though we didn’t see too much of each other until 3rd year.

T: It’s been so long since we first met that all I remember is that he was funny and easy to get along with. We were friends for a few years before we started dating near the end of college.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

B: Before meeting Thao, I had a hard time communicating with people on a deeper level – that is, beyond the surface level of things that friends might chat about. However, as our relationship grew, I found myself able to open up and talk about everything and anything. There wasn’t a specific moment, but over time, I came to understand that the connection we had developed was one I wanted to cherish for the rest of my life.

T: Maybe because my parents were so strict with me on romance, but I struggled a lot with love and self-love. Compounded with the identity crisis that hopefully everyone else gets post-college, I reached a point where I was so overwhelmed, I felt like giving up on everything. Which I kinda did – I quit my job and moved out of my apartment, and decided to stay in Asia for a summer. Brice joined me in the last two weeks, so we were apart for a few months. It was a pivotal time in my life, and I realized that he was someone that I just couldn’t imagine not being my future. He was, and will always be, by my side.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

The most important aspect while we were planning was to preserve a level of intimacy, where we could spend quality time with our guests and create a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. However, our timeline was challenging to juggle since we would be having two ceremonies on the same day. A decision that helped with this was to have our photoshoot on a different day, so we could have more time with our guests and to ourselves.

We chose our venue, Ebell of Long Beach, since it had all the space needed to host the tea ceremony, ceremony, and reception, without feeling too large. It’s such a gorgeous, classic, and historical space that we didn’t want to stray too far from its style. Thao loves art, and Brice loves history, so we drew most of our inspiration from those still-life paintings of classic fruit centerpieces. From that, I opted for moodier reds and hues to make everything softer and romantic.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

T: Honestly, the styling came together as a culmination of all the things I love, and it helped that Autumn is my favorite season. The seasonal floral and fruit selections of Autumn fit the theme perfectly. And, the early setting sun made for some really dramatic shots that Danielle, our photographer, was able to capture.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

B: I enjoyed the feeling of marking tasks as complete. There were a lot of tasks to get through, but thanks to Thao’s sheer determination and masterful planning, we got through it all. My only tip is to not underestimate how long you’ll need – weeks pass by in the blink of an eye.

T: I loved everything! The least stressful part was definitely putting together the menu and the thank you cards, but the most rewarding was making everyone’s favors and creating the florals. Both aggravated my carpal tunnel, but both made me feel so fulfilled when I saw the final result. I think that the most important part for couples starting their planning journey is to communicate expectations early on: expectations on what’s most important on the day of the wedding, and expectations of how much work you want to put in (individually or not). Everything will take a lot more work and effort than you’ll expect, so make sure to budget your time and money accordingly.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

We actually had two ceremonies – a tea ceremony, and a normal western wedding ceremony. Thao’s Vietnamese heritage usually considers the tea ceremony to be the official marriage ceremony. In the tea ceremony, we wore traditional Vietnamese outfits called ao dai, which we also got for our wedding party.

T: In the tea ceremony, there’s a part where the groom’s mom gives me jewelry and puts it on me, which is symbolic of the groom’s family accepting me into their family. And it really meant a lot to me since I knew that Brice, his mom, and my mom all went out shopping for me. My mom wanted Brice to feel included in this process, so she also bought him a gold chain and put it on him during the ceremony (which is super atypical).

B: During the suit-shopping process, I had tried on a number of sets and nothing quite seemed to click. We had narrowed it down to a tuxedo/dinner jacket, but the dress shirts felt a little stiff. Thao suggested trying a cream turtleneck with a cream dinner jacket, and I said something like “What?? A turtleneck is gonna look weird, I don’t want to look like Steve Jobs!” But I tried it anyway – lo and behold, it actually looked great and fit the style we were aiming for, so we went with that.

T: For the western ceremony, since I got my outfit first, I wanted Brice to match me. We tried out a variety of colors and suits, but ultimately decided on the unconventional turtleneck/dinner jacket combination. Brice was hesitant, as he said, because he wasn’t sure he could wear it to a wedding. But it’s our wedding, so we make the rules, right?

What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

B: One of the main considerations we had when selecting Ebell as the venue was its ability to cater high-quality food. Not only is delicious food a personal priority, but also we wanted to provide our families and friends with a great meal and a great time!

T: We spent a majority of our budget on the venue and catering, as Brice mentioned. We had an after party at our home, and spent a bit more on late night catering (a taco stand) to come and feed everyone.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

B: Thanks to Thao’s careful planning, the wedding went as smoothly as I could hope for – no major hiccups, enough space and time to breathe, and happy guests! I will say, there was a moment during the tea ceremony when Thao accidentally poured hot tea down my hand while I was holding the tea cup. Looking back, I am quite proud of not reacting at all, and serving the tea with no interruptions!

T: There were so many funny and stressful moments!

During the tea ceremony, the lights were a bit dim, so my Brice’s mom and my mom had a hard time putting on our jewelry. I ended up helping them and whispering to them to just pretend to do it for the cameras.

During table visits, my cousins wanted me to play a game to “earn” the cards, and I had to put a cork through one of Brice’s pant legs up and through to the other side. It was so chaotic, with everyone cheering us on, but it was so fun.