I had the pleasure of photographing Huong and Doug’s wedding at La Palapa Delmar (or Del-mar) in Long Beach.  Huong and Doug met and feel in love while they were serving in the Peace Corp in South America.  Huong is totally a city girl who enjoys shopping and Doug is an outdoor/nature person who loves hiking. Hm… what can these two have in common right?  Well… it’s their pure and kind hearts that attracted them to one another.

Here is our beautiful laid-back bride Huong getting ready for her big day. It’s funny how Huong and I share so many similarities.  While she was getting ready, we joked about how unfair it is being the oldest female sibbling in a Vietnamese (Asian) family. We both love our little brothers to death, but agreed that they are brats.  After sharing many funny stories about our moms; we realized that we can and SHOULD publish a book titled “Our Vietnamese Mothers”. =)

And of course, for those who know me… I am a sucker for rings! So… here it is:

Huong requested to have pictures of both their rings on an apple because she loooooves apples! “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Ironically, Doug is a Doctor!

Huong and Doug decided to have their first meeting prior to the ceremony. Great planning because we had lots of time for photos.

Their beautiful beach wedding ceremony was held on the beach right outside of La Palapa Delmar. I was told that La Palapa Del-mar is one of the two beaches in Long Beach that have permits to conduct a ceremony on the beach. Great choice of location guys!

Huong and Doug wrote and read their own vows.  You may be wondering why Huong is laughing so hard right? The back story is… when Doug read his vows, he was suppose to say, ” I am here by choice, not by chance.” But instead he accidentally said “I am here not by choice…” then paused and realized oops that didn’t come out right! Take two was a lot better. =)

Their reception at La Palapa Del-mar Banquet Hall was an evening filled with entertainment.  It started with the Bridal Party’s spectacular grand entrance to Huy’s (Huong’s little brother) awesome speech to Doug trying to speak in Vietnamese and then serenading to his gorgeous bride. And of course… LOTS of dancing!

Thank you Huong and Doug for such a wonderful day. I look forward to having you two attend my wedding with Gavin in Vietnam this coming December!