Vietnam Destination Wedding: How We Pulled It Off

13.12.2024 - 21:37 / cntraveler.com

In March 2023, Tim Wong and Andrew Q. Tran took an impactful trip to Asia: The Bay Area-based couple, who began dating in 2020 after meeting through Andrew’s sister, attended a friend’s destination wedding on Balesin Island in the Philippines and went on to visit South Korea and Japan. Tim proposed to Andrew in Osaka, and then Andrew proposed back, at their next stop in Nara. The pair had dinner with their newlywed pals once they’d all returned to the US, and it didn’t take long for Tim and Andrew to become convinced they needed to have a destination wedding, too.

“Up to that point, we never thought about a destination wedding. I thought it would be such a hassle to get to this island in the Philippines, but after we landed, it became such a memorable experience,” Andrew says of their pre-engagement trip. They admired, too, the intentionality of a destination wedding. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I have a wedding this weekend, no big deal,’” Tim said. “Everyone who’s there is really intending to be there, for you.”

With the advice and encouragement of their newlywed friends, the couple embarked on plotting a wedding in Andrew’s native Vietnam. In April 2024 they wed in the coastal city of Da Nang, marking the union with an eye-popping celebration of Chinese and Vietnamese culture that featured a zodiac-themed ceremony, carefully chosen food and drink, and a riotous lion dance. Ahead, they share how they pulled off their dream Vietnam destination wedding.

The pair wed in Da Nang in April at the Intercontinental Da Nang, with a ceremony on the beach.

Tim, left, and Andrew, right, were inspired by their friends' wedding in the Philippines, after which they got engaged in Japan.

Tim and Andrew were open to other locations, but it didn’t take long before the couple landed on marrying in Vietnam, where Andrew lived until he immigrated to the United States as a teenager. “We felt like Vietnam would be a place that had more significance than just some island somewhere,” Tim said. Aside from Andrew’s own attachment to the country, Vietnam was their top choice because of the family he still has living there, and the country’s acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, relative to some other Asian countries.

With the vision of their friends’ beachy wedding still dancing in their heads, the couple set their sights on the coastal city of Da Nang, which offered up plenty of event-friendly resorts. Plus, they reasoned, it would still feel like a special destination and thus vacation for the local family members in Ho Chi Minh City.

The hotel offered both mountain and ocean views, and the red florals nodded to the zodiac theme.

Tim played mahjong with friends before the ceremony.

Though the choice of Vietnam came easily, Tim and