With a black tie dress code and all the classic, elegant details, the wedding of Lynne and David ticked all the boxes for a stunning, Melbourne wedding day. But the details to love did not stop there. The couple weaved their Vietnamese culture throughout elements of the day, embracing the mix of tradition, with their dream of a day that was, in Lynne’s words “elegant, modern, classic yet fun!”. Every detail was brought to life in their story through the photograph of Silas Chau.

This story begins over a decade ago, in 2012 while Lynne and David were both studying for pharmacy degrees. Lynne revealed “At orientation, we happened to choose computer stations next to each other and then, fortunately, were assigned in the same tutorial group throughout university which allowed our friendship to grow. Being eager first years, we also attended every lecture and sat next to each other several times to compare notes and hung out at social events as well. Although we had grown closer over time, we were stuck in the friend zone for the longest time until we made it official on a trip to the Gold Coast at the start of the second year in February 2013 when David asked me to be his Valentine. Our wedding marks our ten years together.”

It was eight and a half years before David decided to ask Lynne to marry him, despite the pressure incoming from both Lynne and the couple’s families! “It happened when we went on a staycation in the city for his birthday at Crown Metropol” remembers Lynne. “It was a nice day leading up to it, with spa treatments at Crown Spa during the day and fine dining at night. Even though I am usually very observant and would have normally picked up on all the clues, it never occurred to me that he might have been proposing! But I was caught by surprise when we came back from dinner to a beautifully decorated hotel room where I sobbed my eyes out while David asked me to marry him.”

The standout vendor of the day for Lynne? Makeup artist Makeup by Jane. She shares “We were so happy with all our vendors and every one of them had such a great impact on our day, we honestly could not have done it without them. But if I had to pick one, I would have to say that my makeup artist, Jane, stood out to me. I was in a bit of a state on the wedding morning but she took such great care in making sure I was not only completely happy with her work (which was flawless and stunning by the way) but even stayed back to ensure I was okay which showed what a kind and thoughtful person she was. I was truly touched and she might not have realised what a positive impact she had on my emotions which started my day on the right foot.”

Lynne wore the most beautiful embellished gown, finding the Jessica Couture designed gown at Raffaele Cuica Bridal. She shares “I did not have a dress style that I was set on and so I tried on all the styles I could while dress shopping to narrow down what I liked. I was surprised by the types of styles I ended up gravitating towards. I originally thought I would have chosen a strapless beaded figure-hugging dress but ended up in an A-line dress with floral beading, a very dramatic train, a low back and a subtle sweetheart neckline. It was the very popular “Olga” dress by Jessica Couture. I finally understood what they meant when “you just know” when you have found your dress. It was a really special moment as the dress felt like it was right and was the look I was going for.

My husband, friends and family all loved it. I paired it with a headpiece from Windsor Bridal Jewellery, white pointed heels and pearl drop earrings.”

David’s custom tux was a beauty, handmade just for him by the YSG Tailors team, Lynne noted “As a wedding is such a special milestone in life, we both knew that we had to make sure he looked his absolute best! David had his tuxedo tailored by YSG Tailors. He was very happy with the services he received and made many fond memories with his groomsmen during the whole process and many appointments and fittings. He chose an all-black three-piece tux with a shiny lapel with a white dress shirt and a black bow tie. It was made with great quality and fit perfectly. He paired it with black patent dress shoes and a white pocket square and white rose boutonniere.”

The blooms on the day were romantically elegant and beautifully styled by Basia Puchalski Floral Design. “Real florals were non-negotiable for me for the ceremony as it has been a dream of mine to have them and I loved how romantic and beautiful they can transform the place” explains Lynne.  “Our very talented florist, Basia, from Basia Puchalski Floral Design set up a beautiful mix of white and pink florals. It was everything we had hoped for! We were able to repurpose them at the reception and I wish I could have enjoyed them even longer. As for bouquets and boutonnieres, she gave us gorgeous reflexed white roses and prepared them with such care and precision, even providing us with spares and personally delivering them! Overall, the florals had such an elegant and classic colour palette and design and I was so happy with them.”

Lynne and David were married at the beautiful historic venue Quat Quatta. “We had considered outdoor venues and rooftops but I fell in love with Quat Quatta as it had both a beautiful outdoor courtyard and backup wet weather indoor option. It had rained the morning of our wedding but luckily we were able to keep our ceremony outdoors. Both venues were stunning and we were so happy with our choices!”

Lynne chose “At Last” by Etta James to play as she was escorted down the aisle by her parents. “It was a beautiful moment! I tear up every time I listen to the song now.” Adds David “What I remember most about the day is seeing my beautiful wife walk down the aisle as well as saying my vows to her. It was a very special moment and was a core memory for me that I will remember forever.”

Lynne and David chose Pete the Celebrant to preside over their ceremony, Lynne remembering “Our ceremony was very touching and emotional for us! We wanted it to be romantic but also light-hearted and a bit fun with the help of our celebrant, Pete. Even though there had been some mishaps leading up to it, everything went out the window when we were in front of each other. As I can be an ugly Kim K sobber, I did my best not to cry which was so difficult when it got to our vows! We could not believe it was happening and it felt so surreal that we were finally husband and wife.”

“We appreciated everything we had worked so hard on and prioritising having a great time on the dancefloor at the end of the night with our friends and family. Having the wedding was not only a special memory for us but it also made us realise how lucky and grateful we are to have such amazing people around us in our lives. There were so many things we took from the whole experience.”

“It honestly is so hard to pick one single favourite detail from the day… But I am so glad that we had scheduled some alone time throughout the day with just us, the bride and groom, as well as sticking by each other’s side all day. It is so easy to get swept up with the events of the day and pulled away from each other when socialising, but the day was about us so it was nice to spend most of it by each others’ side and taking in the moment.”

“Silas Chau was our photographer and amazing to work with” raves Lynne of the couple’s chosen photographer,  “We were able to practise and familiarise ourselves with his shooting style through our pre-wedding photoshoot so we felt much more comfortable with posing for our photographs by the time it got to our tea ceremony and wedding day. His direction, enthusiasm and energy were professional and made us feel at ease. His shooting style includes such variety, from romantic, editorial to fun! It was great to have such a mix of shots. We are so happy to have had him as our photographer and will treasure these photos forever.”

Guests gathered at Leonda by the Yarra for a grand sitdown reception, Lynne telling “We wanted a central, easily accessible location in Melbourne that was big enough to fit our guest numbers and were fond of a ballroom look with natural lighting so Leonda by the Yarra was perfect! The staff were also lovely and we felt like we were in very good hands.”

Lynne loved every moment of wedding planning. “My favourite part of wedding planning was probably compiling all the ideas I had accumulated over the months and deciding on the final vision. It was so rewarding to see it all come to life on the actual wedding day. It was also fun learning new skills for such a big project and bonding with the husband through brainstorming fun ideas together to make this wedding our own as well as taking dance lessons.

I had so many ideas for the wedding and enjoy arts and crafts, it was a fun project picking up DIY projects along the way. Choosing to DIY, allowed us to add more personalised and unique elements to our wedding! Some DIY projects included designing stationery such as menus, signage, and afterparty flyers as well as personalising through decals and table setup. There were moments leading up to the wedding where I questioned why we had taken so much on but it was all worth it in the end. We are so grateful to also have had our wedding party and family to help us.”

The couple wove plenty of traditional Vietnamese cultural details throughout their day, says Lynne. “We made sure to pay respect to our heritage by including a Vietnamese tea ceremony in our wedding celebrations, which also honoured our parents and relatives. It was both fun and a little nerve-wracking to experience Vietnamese traditions as we had never fully witnessed one before our own. David and I also enjoyed wearing the traditional ao dai alongside our wedding party and of course, the delicious feast afterwards once the ceremony concluded.”

In the midst of planning your big day? Take Lynne’s golden advice “As stressful as wedding planning may be or feel, try to enjoy the process with your partner! But also do not be afraid to ask for help from others if you need it. Remember that at the end of the day, your wedding is to celebrate your love so don’t stress out too much about all the little details as not everyone would even notice them. Do what makes you both happy rather than trying to please everyone. It is going to be a beautiful day regardless so do your best to let all the stress go on the day and accept that things are bound to go wrong so that it does not affect you. The wedding will pass in a flash so spend as much time together with your spouse as you can and take the time to be in the moment.”

This was a wedding filled with endless attention to detail. “There were so many little details included in the wedding that it is hard to narrow down. We loved that we included all the photo ops we could including petal toss, champagne tower, cake cutting and sparkler exit as we were able to have such a variety of beautiful photos on top of the traditional ceremony and photoshoot photos. Our Asian banquet from Silks Catering kept all our guests well-fed and extremely happy.”

The newlywed’s first dance was a favourite from a much-loved movie, tells Lynne, “We chose “Planetarium” from the movie, La La Land. As we were so fond of the movie when we watched it in the cinemas back in 2016, I had dreamed of us dancing to the waltz-like they did in the movie. It is such a beautiful song and reminded me of falling in love. It was a challenge by picking this song as we had to learn a whole waltz routine despite having no prior dancing experience. Caroline at The Secret Garden Of Dance made it so easy for us to pick it up! We had such an amazing time learning the choreography and we feel like it was not only a nice break from wedding planning, but it drew us closer as a couple. Our guests loved our first dance performance and we still hear about it even now!”

“We also set high importance on setting the mood for a party at the reception to go with our awesome DJ and saxophone player (from Top Dog Entertainment) as well. We even had delegated guests at each table to ensure the drinks were flowing and party-going. We all had an absolute blast and danced all night.”

A big congratulations to you both Lynne and David! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us and thank you to Silas Chau for sharing today’s beautiful images with us.