Chuc Lan, 32 years old, currently lives in Gifu prefecture, Japan. She has been married for 4 years and is currently living a "serene" life like Ly Tu That. Every day she cooks, decorates the house, grows vegetables and flowers...
This year, because she plans to return to Vietnam to celebrate Christmas and New Year with her family, of course she will not be able to have a Christmas Eve party with her husband like every year. From now until she returns to Vietnam, there will be no other occasion to have a cozy party. So, the last days of the year for Chuc Lan and her husband seem monotonous, so she decided to take advantage of the wedding anniversary to warm up the last days of the year.
To mark their 4th wedding anniversary in the land of the rising sun, Chuc Lan personally prepared everything to surprise her husband, from the decoration to meticulously preparing all the eye-catching dishes.
"Flower wedding" in Japan
In previous years, when it came to their wedding anniversary, the couple would often go out to eat at a restaurant where they first dated or go on a trip and have a party at a homestay. This year, it was the first time she had a party at home. With the intention of keeping it a secret from her husband, the small, cozy party for the two of them ended up going very well and was a surprise filled with happiness.
Let's talk a little about Chuc Lan's love story. She and her husband have been in a long-distance relationship for 2 years and have been married for 4 years. After the party, she learned that in Japan, the 4th year of marriage is called a flower wedding. Coincidentally, the concept she did was decorated with a lot of flowers, leaves, and trees.
The photo of Vietnamese bride Chuc Lan and her Japanese husband was taken 4 years ago.
“I came up with the idea of having this small party 2 days before the anniversary. As soon as I thought of it, I started doing it. The first day I made decorations. The second day I made the menu and prepared the food. I didn’t know about flower weddings in Japan. I only learned about this information after reading my brother-in-law’s letter,” Chuc Lan shared.
Then she learned that in Japan, the first year of marriage is a paper wedding - the newlyweds are like a blank page, and together they will write down their plans and intentions for their future married life.
Each dish or decorative object contains the feelings of the person who makes it.
On the smooth wooden board, she used a felt-tip pen to write her love words meticulously and skillfully.
The second year is the cotton wedding (cotton thread, silk thread), meaning that both will save together, limit and stay away from unnecessary luxuries to build married life.
The third year is the wedding day, the third year of marriage is also the stage of saturation and boredom. Therefore, be as persistent as “skin” to continue a happy marriage.
The fourth year is the flower wedding, the marriage enters the “blossoming” stage. A stage that signals the crystallization of love will appear.
The Vietnamese bride meticulously prepared everything for the party herself.
Starting with the decoration, she took a 3m long bridal veil and reused it, tied it with lace, and attached it to a eucalyptus branch.
In an intimate and romantic party, scented candles are indispensable. She chose white and olive green to match the concept. Decorate the scented candle with a loving note, wrap it with some sedge rings and attach a few mimosa leaves.
In an intimate and romantic party, scented candles are indispensable.
Using the flower basket she had received as a gift, Chuc Lan added foam and inserted homegrown chrysanthemums that had dried from last year.
The basket was kept from the last time she received flowers, and she used foam to hold the chrysanthemums she had grown and dried last year. On the plain wooden board, she used a marker pen to write her love message meticulously and skillfully.
“Japan is now approaching late autumn, the average daytime temperature in my area is around 20-24 degrees. This condition is favorable for the leaves in the garden to stay fresh and hard without needing to be soaked in water or cared for when used for decoration. Just comfortably put them in foam or decorate the party table,” said Chuc Lan.
Wish Lan personally designed, printed the menu and prepared all the dishes.
In addition, Chuc Lan also creates her own menu, prepares and decorates it in fusion food style (or fusion cuisine), which is the blending of ingredients, cooking methods... between two or more countries and culinary cultures, giving diners a new experience.
Chuc Lan said: “First, I baked the sponge cake the night before so that it had time to dry. The next day, I kneaded and let the bread dough rise. While the dough was rising, I marinated the chicken wings and cooked garlic soup. While the bread was baking, I finished the cream cake... alternating the steps to make it as reasonable and time-saving as possible. It took me about 5 hours to prepare this menu.”
Mini tomatoes dipped in sesame caramel
Focaccia Bread
Mexican Style Shrimp
Grilled orange chicken wings are the main dish on the menu.
The ingenuity in combining ingredients and spices helps Chuc Lan create a completely new and unique menu. Mini tomatoes dipped in sesame caramel, Mexican shrimp, Focaccia bread and garlic soup, orange grilled chicken wings, grilled salmon skewers, fruits, cake and white wine have created a more special taste of love in the party of 2 people.
The 4th wedding anniversary of Vietnamese bride Chuc Lan and her Japanese husband was not only a romantic party with candles, flowers, and delicious food, but even more special was the moment her husband read a handwritten letter in Japanese that she had personally written.
Chuc Lan's skillful handwritten letter on the occasion of their 4th wedding anniversary
Sharing more about the love story of Chuc Lan and her husband, she said: “In love in particular and life relationships in general, to be sustainable, it requires the efforts of each member. Sincerity will receive sincerity. In married life, always be generous and cherish each other. Nurturing your spiritual life every day is the way to prolong your marriage forever.”
