Left: The couple at their American-style wedding ceremony at Abella Weddings
and Events in Chisago City. Photos: Carly Mac Photography
A multicultural wedding honors both American and Vietnamese traditions.
When Chơnhạnh VũVân and Nicholas Langevin met in 2015, they were University of Minnesota undergrads on the lookout for new friends in their dorm. Langevin, who grew up in White Bear Lake, proposed in August 2023 during a trip to Vietnam to visit VũVân’s extended family. The beautiful setting of their engagement, on a lagoon with mountains as a backdrop, would foreshadow the multicultural focus of their wedding, which incorporated many Vietnamese traditions.
Details from the couple’s ceremony at Chùa Phât-Ân Vietnamese Buddhist Temple.
VũVân and Langevin’s wedding spanned two summer days. On June 23, they held a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony with their immediate families in VũVân’s parents’ Maplewood home. “It’s kind of like the woman saying goodbye to her family because she’ll be living with her husband now. The couple also gets blessings from the ancestors and thanks them for all they’ve done,” she says.
The traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony took place at Chùa Phât-Ân Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Roseville.
Afterward, the couple joined 200 guests at the Chùa Phật-Ân Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Roseville, which VũVân says has been a longtime spiritual home for her and her family. After a lively lion dance to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits, the couple and their wedding party processed into the temple for the traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony, officiated by the temple masters.
The festivities began with a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony with their immediate families.
For the first day’s festivities, VũVân wore the traditional áo dài (a long, split tunic over trousers) and headpiece in red. “Red symbolizes good luck and bringing good wealth into the marriage,” she says. Langevin (in blue) and the wedding party also wore custom-made áo dàis shipped from Vietnam. VũVân’s grandmother, who lives in Vietnam, woke up at 2 a.m. in her time zone so she could watch the ceremony via FaceTime at 5 a.m. “It’s hard for my extended family to travel out of the country,” VũVân says. “That’s why having our engagement in Vietnam was so important—to make sure they were all part of it.”
The couple wore traditional áo dàis in red and blue for their Vietnamese wedding festivities.
The wedding party rose bright and early on June 24 to prepare for their American-style ceremony and reception at Abella Weddings and Events in Chisago City. VũVân wore a white Lillian West gown, and Langevin donned a navy Knights Chamber suit.
The couple captured portraits overlooking the fields at Abella Weddings and Events.
“It was important to us to include both Vietnamese and English,” VũVân says. “I said my vows in Vietnamese, and then Nick would repeat them in English and vice versa. It was really special.” All of the wedding’s cards and signs were in both languages too. An interpreter was on hand both Friday and Saturday to ensure all of the couple’s family and friends could participate in—and enjoy—every element of their multicultural, multilingual celebration.
: The event stationery was designed and printed through Truly Engaging.
For the evening’s reception, VũVân’s family handcrafted each piece of the décor, down to hand-tied flower bouquets. For dessert, the couple offered Ben & Jerry’s ice cream as a personal touch. “It’s my favorite treat—and I think our guests still talk about it,” VũVân says. “But every piece of our wedding felt really special.”
Guests arrived at the venue via a picturesque trolley.
Vendors
- Bridal Attire: Our Shop Bridal, ourshopbridal.com
- Bridal Alterations: Custom Sewing by Heather, customsewingbyheather.com
- Bridesmaid Attire: Azazie, azazie.com
- Catering: Thanh Luong Vegetarian, thanhluongchay.com (Friday); Fork & Flair, forkandflair.com (Saturday)
- Dessert: Ben & Jerry’s, benjerry.com; Dorothy Ann Bakery, dorothyannbakery.com; Nothing Bundt Cakes, nothingbundtcakes.com
- Event Coordinator: Honey b. Weddings, honeybweddings.com
- Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Knights Chamber Clothiers, knightschamber.store
- Hair: Michelle Cain Langevin (Friday); Hair by BK, hairbybk.com (Saturday)
- Jewelry: Shane Co., shaneco.com
- Makeup: Tiaj Xiong (Friday); LHN Beauty, lhnbeauty.com (Saturday)
- Photography: Carly Mac Photography, carlymacphotography.com
- Stationery: Truly Engaging, trulyengaging.com
- Venue: Chùa Phật Ân Temple, phatan.org (Friday); Abella Weddings and Events, abellaweddingsandevents.com (Saturday)
- Videography: Make Your Memory, makeyourmemory.co
