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As a Melbourne wedding photographer, I have had the fortune to capture many memorable moments from diversified cultures. Every such experience is enriching, and new learning helps me gain a better perspective on the traditions of different cultures. One such cultural exposure that was truly rewarding both professionally and personally was a traditional Vietnamese wedding.
Vietnamese weddings in Melbourne are gaiety, where traditional customs blend beautifully with modern vibes. From receiving the bride to the tea ceremony to the return journey to the groom’s place, all the Vietnamese wedding traditions and rituals highlight Vietnam’s rich heritage.
Every wedding is unique, and capturing every moment, celebration, and emotional outburst with love is my pleasure. At Tree Studio, we complete your Vietnam Wedding planning with our wedding photography service. Please scroll down to read more about our style of wedding photography for Vietnamese weddings so that you know you are hiring the best photographers in Melbourne for your D-Day.
Melbourne has a diversified range of geographical beauties that serve as the picture-perfect backdrop for Vietnamese wedding photoshoots. Most of these places are picturesque and scenic, some man-made marvels, and others natural beauties. The following are the five best locations for Vietnamese wedding photography.
The Royal Botanic Gardens tops the list of best locations for wedding photography. Thanks to its natural and serene setting. The lush gardens are surrounded by different species of flora, and a tranquil lake enhances the beauty of this photography location. The picturesque setting, vibrant colours, and pristine ambience are ideal for Vietnamese wedding photography and best suited for capturing romantic moments.
This is another playful and vibrant backdrop for Vietnamese wedding photography. The Beach features an immaculate shoreline marked with vividly colourful bathing boxes. The golden sands, impressive huts, and blue water make this place truly beautiful. It is a perfect place to enjoy the best moments of a happy occasion like a wedding. I highly recommend the coast for its joyful atmosphere.
In the city's heart is the Fitzroy Gardens, another natural setting for Vietnamese wedding photography. The place features historic structures, manicured lawns lined by majestic trees, and paved streets. There is also an array of scenic spots like the Conservatory and Fairies' Tree, where wedding photoshoots can be done with remarkable results—the enchanting environment results in memorable photographs for posterity.
If you want an urban setting for Vietnamese wedding pictures, I would like you to check out Docklands. The waterfront views are enchanting, making the perfect backdrop for wedding photography. The place also boasts contemporary architecture with iconic locations like the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel and Bolte Bridge. The city's vibrancy is so easily captivating as a stylish backdrop for the photoshoot, encapsulating a modern love story.
This place is known for its vivid graffiti and street art. The choice for Vietnamese wedding photography can be a bit unconventional, but it is pretty trendy and stylish. This backdrop is ideal for creatively shooting wedding photos in style and flair. The colourful murals add an artistic touch to your wedding photographs, whether traditional attire or a modern wedding.
Whether it is an outdoor location or indoor, Melbourne offers ample Vietnamese wedding venue options, making your big day memorable!
Let me take you through the top 5 Vietnamese wedding venues in Melbourne.
This riverside venue is another top spot for Vietnamese weddings. It has a spacious and elegant ballroom and an outdoor terrace for weddings of all sizes. The terrace, in particular, overlooks the Yarra River. Leonda by the Yarra offers a serene and scenic backdrop for intimate ceremonies and receptions. This Vietnamese wedding venue has an in-house team of event experts who help with the arrangements according to the couple's preferences.
Rates: The price charged is per person and ranges from $120- $250 depending on the day of the week and season.
Address: 2 Wallen Road, Hawthorn, VIC 3122
A boutique venue in Ripponlea, Quat Quatta, is preferred by couples for its architecture and stylish interiors with a historic ambience. It is a heritage-listed mansion with a grand and elegant setting for a Vietnamese wedding. The venue features a courtyard, landscaped gardens, a bronze fountain, festoon lighting, and sophisticated reception rooms with dance floors. The team is experienced in offering highly personalised services, combining traditional elements with modern themes.
Rates: The rate charged is per person and is usually between $180 to $245 per head. It can take a gathering of up to 160 guests.
Address: Quat Quatta Avenue, Ripponlea, VIC 3185.
The Victorian-style State Library is an architectural delight in the city centre. It has many indoor venues that are perfect for a Vietnamese wedding. Couples who love 19th-century historic decor and themes usually prefer this venue to start their new life. The Ian Potter Queen's Hall and the La Trobe Reading Room are famous among newlyweds. This Vietnamese wedding venue can accommodate 180 to 450 people.
Rates: Rates are charged per person. During the off-season, the rate ranges from around $120 to $150; during the season, it is between $200 and $250 per person.
Address: 328 Swanston St, Melbourne, VIC 3000
This Vietnamese wedding venue in Melbourne offers different wedding packages and caters to Asian weddings. It is a luxurious space featuring lavish ballrooms. The amenities and facilities are all world-class. Located on the Yarra River, the high-rise building offers a panoramic view of Melbourne's skyline. There are five-star guest rooms for accommodation. Additionally, the in-house team is reputed for its superior catering facilities.
Rates: Different packages are available; the per-person rate ranges between $150 and $250.
Address: 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, Victoria.
This is an open marriage venue with landscaping around the six hectares of land. The St. Kilda venue is a bayside park with waterfront views. The place has an attractive arrangement of palm trees throughout the Gardens, well-arranged floral species, and many man-made features like a grassed reserve. There's also the lava rock wall, a century-old land feature.
Rates: The rotunda can be hired for free for a gathering of 50 people. The hiring charge for more than 50 people is $166 for 2 hours. It would help if you had a permit to hire, though. The Heritage Gardens hiring charge is $355 for 2 hours. Other areas like the beachfront, gardens, and parks can be hired for $204 for 2 hours.
Address: Beaconsfield Parade, St Kilda VIC 3182, Australia.
Melbourne is one of the most happening places in Australia. The city’s nickname, “cultural capital of Australia”, rightly defines its essence. It welcomes people from different backgrounds and cultures.
Did you know that Melbourne is home to almost 80,000 people from Vietnam? It’s fascinating. The vibrant landscape and diverse cuisines of the city offer multiple opportunities for Vietnamese to follow and honour the traditional customs of their culture.
Since I cover approximately ten such weddings yearly, it gives me great pleasure to introduce my readers to different Vietnamese wedding traditions.
The wedding ceremonies start in the morning. The bride-receiving ritual is a significant part of the Vietnamese wedding traditions. The groom, his groomsmen, and his family travel to reach the bride's place. The groom and his dear friends wear the traditional Vietnamese wedding costume in blue or yellow. They also carry Vietnamese wedding gift trays containing conventional things like betel leaves, cake, fruits, and roasted pig in lacquered boxes covered by red handkerchiefs on the top.
The gifts symbolise goodwill. The bride's family receives the groom and his family with tea and betel leaves, greeting them with firecrackers—the bride dresses in a traditional red Vietnamese wedding costume, Ao Dai. The bride's family meets the groom and his family at the ancestral altar. Prayers and traditional rituals are offered, and the newlywed couple burns incense sticks. This way, the couple takes the approval of their ancestors and asks for their blessings.
This is when the bride officially becomes a part of the groom's family, marking their union. Sometimes, both sides give a speech in which family members share good words about the couple, and a candle ceremony is also organised. Burning the candle symbolises the union of the two families.
This is also a customary tradition in Vietnamese weddings. The intimate ceremony is held at the bride's home. The newlywed couple first offers prayers and then serves tea to parents on both sides and elders. The ritual is a way of showing gratitude and respect to the family's elders. The custom also involves placing offerings at the ancestral altar.
This ceremony is also the right opportunity to introduce the family members from both sides to one another. Traditional things like areca nuts and betel leaves are exchanged, and gifts like gold jewellery and red envelopes with money are given to the couple as blessings.
The bride's family serves lunch, which mainly consists of traditional Vietnamese food like noodles and salads. The gifts brought and given by the groom's family to the bride's family in the morning, such as roasted pork fruits and cakes, are also served during the lunch ceremony.
After the lunch ceremony at the bride's place, the newlywed couple and the groom's family return to the groom's house. Before entering the home, they burn the incense sticks at the ancestral altar at the boy's place. This way, they seek blessings and good wishes from the ancestors of the groom. Sometimes, a tea ceremony is specially organised at the groom's place for family members who could not attend the ceremony at the bride's house in the morning.
Many Vietnamese living in Melbourne are Catholic, so traditions differ in a Vietnamese Catholic wedding. There's a mix of religious practices and traditions. The couple wears a white Western-style wedding dress. The morning starts with the tea ceremony, with due respect to the ancestors of both sides. The couple then heads toward the Catholic church to tie the knot, where vows are exchanged, followed by the wedding mass.
In the evening, a reception is organised similarly to other Catholic weddings. During the reception, customary celebrations like the Lion Dance or the Dragon Dance are often held.
Couples can choose whether they want same-day photoshoots or next-day shoots if their schedule is too tight. Sometimes, for Vietnamese Catholic couples, it is natural to spread the entire wedding ceremony across two days, for example, a conventional wedding on Day 1 and the wedding mass on Day 2.
Wedding photography is a crucial part of a Vietnamese wedding. It is the perfect opportunity to create an asset—your wedding album. That's why it is so crucial to hire professional photographers to record the entire event with precision using their camera lens.
A Vietnamese wedding photographer captures the ambivalent couple and their families while doing each ritual. Their wedding story is a complete assortment of soulful moments. Every time the couple thumb through the album in the future, they get the opportunity to relive those emotions once again.
As wedding photographers, it is our responsibility to ensure that nothing is missed while capturing the wedding event. Whether it's the pre-wedding, wedding day, or post-wedding photoshoots, we do our job with utmost responsibility and love. Your Vietnamese wedding photography and videography will be a treasure box of laughter, joys, smiles, hugs, and tears.
All images captured by our lens last a lifetime, transforming into a keepsake forever. This is the gift that we bring to couples who hire us to record their special day.
Vietnamese weddings are soaked in traditional customs. The weddings are family events, where two families come together to celebrate the union of two beautiful souls. Traditional Vietnamese wedding photography involves capturing each moment with meticulous detailing. Be it the groom's arrival at the bride's place or the tea ceremony, clicking these moments requires the photographer to be well-informed about different customs so that a fair amount of clicks are taken for every event.
Today, many Vietnamese couples like to mix modern and traditional elements, which necessitates the photographer's proper understanding of Vietnamese wedding traditions and rituals. This will allow the photographer to add a modern touch to traditional wedding photography. From capturing the attire of the bride and groom, friends and family, and other elements, the photographer has to be skilled to do justice to recording the entire event.
Vietnamese weddings in Melbourne are not just about traditional practices and ceremonies. With modernisation, most weddings have a contemporary twist, too. Here are a few trends that characterise modern Vietnamese weddings.
Natural Photography
Shooting a wedding in a natural setting is not just a simple way to capture the event. Choosing the right venue means taking advantage of natural daylight, which is always a photographer's best companion. Professionals like us use all the elements to create beautiful memories.
B&W Photography
In this digital age, minimalism is a preferred choice of many Vietnamese couples. Monotones or black-and-white pictures are considered elegant as they have a classical feel and look with timeless charm and appeal. Black-and-white photographs are evergreen and getting quite viral these days.
Fashion Photography
Modern-day Vietnamese couples love to adopt new styles and trends, focusing on their attire, accessories, hairstyle, and makeup, striking captivating poses. Professional photographers like us work with the couple and brainstorm creative ideas while bringing technical expertise to the forefront to record captivating pictures of the couple. Not to miss out on the family members and guests who are there in their best fashion.
Illustrative Photography
This trend focuses on capturing the couple in their natural selves. Nothing hides from the camera; emotions are captured when they maintain their authentic personalities. It also includes recording the genuine emotions of their family members and guests throughout their exchanges with the newlyweds throughout the day.
A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event. For Vietnamese newlywed couples, a wedding album or video will be a flashback to their wedding day. They can relive those moments of joy and happiness filled with cultural vibes. That is why hiring the best wedding photographers for their precious event is imperative.
For all would-be Vietnamese couples, this is a guide to follow while hiring a photographer to shoot their wedding day:
● Research for Local Photographers: The first step is to find the right Vietnamese wedding photographer in Melbourne. You can ask for some references from friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances. You can also research online using specific keywords like 'expert Vietnamese wedding photographers in Melbourne.'
● Meet the team: It is important to meet the photographer and the team. This allows you to communicate your aspirations and choices. You can review their portfolio and discuss your unique requirements. You can also check with them about their experience covering Vietnamese wedding traditions.
● Make the decision: After thorough research, you understand the photographer's potential and calibre. Meet at least three teams to compare their skill sets, pricing, and expertise. Then, finally, make the decision and hire the photographer who seems to be the best of the lot.
The photographer and the team should be able to advise and guide you in preparing for the photoshoot. Here are some tips to follow -
● Discuss the shots you wish to shoot. They can vary from solo shots to group shots and couple shots. You can also go for candid shots that are not rehearsed or practiced before shooting. Discuss these details with your photographer.
● Choose the Vietnamese wedding venue or location for the photo shoot in advance so that the photographer can plan ahead of D-day. It is best not to leave things to the last minute. You should finalise the attire, shots, venues, and other details much in advance.
● Ensure that you have enough time for the shoot so that things are not hurried. Many factors and elements influence perfect shots. Hence, you need to dedicate at least a full day to your wedding photography so that the photographer can get the best shots.
● Enjoy the shoot so that there are no stress lines on your face or your posture because the camera captures every aspect, including your body language. Take it as the time to bond and have fun with one another rather than just fulfilling an obligation.