Another wedding season is here, when many couples are busy preparing for their big day, people are asking the question, what trend will dominate the wedding market in the last months of this year?
Just a decade ago, the majority of Vietnamese people thought of “wedding” as an engagement ceremony, a bride-picking ceremony, and then the family inviting relatives and friends to celebrate. Weddings were often held at private homes, in wedding halls or in halls with larger capacity and many accompanying services.
In recent years, the influence of Western culture along with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has created a perfect condition for another wedding trend to take hold: Intimate Wedding. As the name suggests, the wedding will only be limited to a certain number of participants and will take place in a more liberal manner according to the preferences of the bride and groom.
So what do insiders think about these wedding styles? Which wedding trends are more popular and loved? Let's listen to Travellive to hear what young people have to say about their weddings.
Is there a harmonious combination for the most perfect happy day?
Traditional Weddings – Are They Really a Burden?
According to ancient beliefs, marriage is one of the most important events in a person’s life. Therefore, everything must be done meticulously, under the witness of ancestors, family, relatives and all friends. A traditional wedding can have up to hundreds of tables of food, becoming an occasion for everyone to meet, exchange and share joy with the newlyweds.
Thuy Linh - currently living in Hanoi shared: "I feel that organizing a wedding in the traditional style has its own interesting features. In particular, the ceremony of asking ancestors to witness makes the wedding more meaningful. In addition, the wedding is also an opportunity for relatives and friends to gather and share a common joy that is rarely available due to busy schedules."
Thuy Linh's traditional wedding (Photo: NVCC)
However, the complexity of the organization and the large number of participants sometimes become a disadvantage that makes many people hesitate when thinking about traditional weddings. A situation that brides and grooms often encounter is that they themselves do not know the attendees, because most of them are friends of their parents, or distant relatives of both families that they rarely meet. According to Thuy Linh, depending on each person's personality and culture, this can be a "minus point" or a "plus point".
“I am the type of person who prefers a private and cozy atmosphere over a crowded party, but my husband likes the wedding to be as crowded as possible. According to my husband, if we haven’t had a chance to introduce ourselves and get to know each other, the wedding will be an opportunity for the bride, groom and everyone to officially share, talk and become closer to each other.”
Modern Wedding – Freedom to be yourself
In recent years, modern intimate weddings have been loved by many young people because they solve many of the "disadvantages" of traditional weddings. Not bound by a specific ritual sequence, or confined to a few decorative styles or formal attire, modern weddings are an opportunity for the bride and groom to freely create a happy day according to their preferences and personalities.
“My wedding only invited family, friends and closest colleagues, limited to a few dozen people. We chose a cozy garden space, hand-picked each flower, prepared gifts for guests, and created fun games to connect everyone. Those are the things I like most about organizing an intimate wedding” – Phuong Anh (Hanoi) shared.
Phuong Anh's intimate wedding (Photo: NVCC)
Because of the nature of this type of wedding, participants also experience many interesting surprises that are rarely seen in a regular wedding.
Ha, a student in Hanoi, said: “Last month was the first time I attended an intimate wedding and was extremely impressed by how interesting it was. People attending not only ate, took photos and left, but also participated in extremely fun games such as answering riddles, lighting fireworks, drawing... and then receiving small gifts to take home. Everyone was happy and I also made many interesting new friends.”
Besides, the “only invite really close people” nature of an intimate wedding also somewhat reduces the burden on those invited.
“In my opinion, not everyone feels comfortable being invited to weddings where they are not really close to the organizer. There are cases where friends who have not met or talked for decades suddenly receive an invitation. That puts the invitee in a very awkward situation; not attending is impolite, but attending is embarrassing,” Phuong Anh said.
Is there a combination?
Although modern weddings offer a lot of freedom and are very popular with young people, there are still barriers that make many people hesitate to choose this wedding style. One of the most common reasons comes from the family.
“When organizing a wedding, parents want to have the opportunity to invite friends, colleagues and distant relatives to attend and share the joy on their child's big day.
So I decided to divide the wedding into two separate parties: one for family, relatives and friends of my parents, and one for our closest friends" - Phuong Anh shared.
I understand that mentality and feel that I cannot ignore my parents' wishes just because I like them. (Photo: NVCC)
This method is applied by many young people to satisfy both personal interests and the needs of the family, but it is quite expensive. The wedding is divided into two times, which means the cost of the location, decoration, organization, and costume rental is doubled. Therefore, to choose this option, the bride and groom need to have careful financial preparation and plan to control spending carefully.
On the other hand, Thuy Linh chose to combine the unique advantages of the two styles for her wedding:
“On the one hand, we held the wedding at home, set up a small wedding tent and decorated it simply like a traditional wedding, on the other hand, we limited the number of guests to a minimum, including family, relatives and closest friends. Traditional ceremonies were also performed fully and properly. This way of organizing is suitable for us because it meets the basic wishes of the family, is neat, cozy and saves on organization costs.”
Whether it is small or big, intimate or crowded and grand; the wedding is still a meaningful turning point in the lives of two people. Enjoy it to the fullest, so that the happiness and memories will last forever.
