Chic Industrial Wedding with Traditional Tea Ceremony

This wedding is an impeccable combination of tradition and modern design! The bride and groom had an early start to their big day honoring loved ones with a traditional Asian tea ceremony. But, the tradition did not stop there, these two implemented Asian culture into the whole night. With a fun boba tea bar, elegant color choices of blush pink and navy, deep stained wood interior, and intimate details, this chic industrial wedding is nothing short of perfection!

From the Bride…

If we had to describe our dream wedding in just a few words it would be: warm, romantic, and industrial chic. We envisioned soft lights and soft colors that would create an intimate environment for our guests. When we saw Puritan Mill, it was the perfect backdrop for us. We loved the high ceiling with exposed wood, brick walls, and steel pillars. The space was large and a blank canvas. We immediately knew we wanted to string cafe lights across the room to create that intimacy, picked blush pink and navy to compliment the warm wood and brick colors, and keep centerpieces simple to not draw attention away from the space itself. Dennis and I grew up here in America but our culture’s traditions remain important to us so we wanted to incorporate as much of it into our wedding day as possible. Having the traditional tea ceremony in the morning made the day extra long but it was so worth it to be able to pay respects to our parents, and family members and be able to wear the Vietnamese ‘Ao Dai’.

We were so blessed to have an amazing bridal party, family, friends, and dependable vendors to bring our dream wedding to fruition. The day still seems like a blur and went by fast even though our wedding day was much longer than most (14 hours !). We had so many moving parts, and being the bride and groom that day, we had to sit back and trust that everything will fall into place, which it did! Walking down the aisle with my father and seeing Dennis tearing up at the altar with go in the books as one of the most emotional, heart-felt, and special moments in my life.

From the Photographer, Noi Tran…

During the planning stages among our chats, Elizabeth and Dennis sparked my interest on how they were going to execute a jammed packed day (including hair and make up at 5am). To start, their day would begin with the traditional asian tea ceremony and that in itself is a lot. The word tradition hints at that right? But it is such an important custom! It is also one of the ways that parents and family members are honored. So hearing the couple talk about their plans got me excited on how I could photograph this important part of the day for them.

It was a big surprise when it was time for the groom to make his appearance at the his soon to be in-law’s house. A big and loud surprise by means of firecrackers! Lunch was provided (it’s custom to feed everyone including vendors) by Elizabeth’s family and her mom is a fantastic cook. After the tea ceremony, the wedding vows were exchanged at St. Pius X Catholic church in Conyers, GA. We then had some time for portraits at the Millennium Gate in Atlanta.

Some of my favorite details from the wedding reception (besides everything!) was how they infused the Asian and American culture, for instance, with boba tea. It was definitely a big hit with the guests and the line stayed long. But guests didn’t mind as they chatted away and mingled waiting for the sweet & delicious-fun drink. Dennis gets all the credit for the floral backdrop you see in the cocktail hour space. As another Asian tradition, the bride and groom are photographed with each arriving guest. What a chic, yet fun way to be photographed with guests! After dinner, Elizabeth changed back into the custom Vietnamese dress and went around to the different tables expressing their greeting and thanks for attending their special day. The finale was seeing the LED glo-loons used for their grand exit as they departed for the night.

Though the day was filled with customs and traditions it was all executed so very well! It was such an honor to be a part of this day with the couple and I appreciate the value that they both hold for their heritage.