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Perhaps it comes with the wisdom of being a grown-up and the good taste of having a keen aesthetic, but the wedding of Lannhi Tran and Daniel Muzquiz—although planned to a "T"—was still full of intimacy, grace, and spontaneity! Sometimes planning for an attention-to-details kind of person can become "over-planning" with the event losing some of its heart. But when Lannhi recently told me about her 2006 wedding in exotic Belize, it was just pure love and thoughtfulness that came through on the phone call.
Surrounded by the paradise blues of the Caribbean Sea and the expansive tropical skies, Lannhi and Daniel, both 34, were married by their dear friend who had introduced them less than three years earlier. The islands' rhythm and colors, azure and rojo—the blues of the sea ( including ribbon sashes catching the sea breezes) and the burnt orange of the sun (bright, exotic flowers everywhere)—punctuated the ceremony. Even favorite songs like Somewhere Over the Rainbow was played with a calypso beat.
Becoming a Couple It's become a new "tradition" over the last decade for grown-up couples to plan their wedding together—or at least for the groom to be more of an active player in the planning. "We wanted the wedding to reflect who we are as individuals and who we've become as a couple," Lannhi explained. So Daniel and Lannhi put thoughtful attention on what a "happy marriage" would be for them, narrowing it down to ten qualities. Then they asked a friend or family member who "matched" that quality to lend their wisdom on the subject and speak at the wedding.
Therefore expressions of passion, trust, loyalty, honesty, patience, respect, compromise, communication, thoughtfulness, and laughter were not only eloquently spoken at their wedding, but like "honored guests," permeated the occasion with their favor and grace. "There was lots of laughter and tears. It was one of the most memorable parts of our wedding," Lannhi shared. The couple also wrote their own vows, establishing a framework for the words by having both of them fill in three opening lines, reflecting the thoughtfulness they gave to building their relationship together:
"It still makes me smile to think how we used the same framework to write very different vows," Lannhi recalled. Lannhi and Daniel each acknowledged the heritage of their families—Vietnamese and Mexican—in charming and playful ways: From the guayaberas (Mexican wedding shirts) for Daniel's father and best man to the maracas favors for all to shake and dance to at the reception; from Lannhi's "welcome dinner" cocktail dress made for her in Vietnam (on her first trip back since leaving 30 years before) to dedicating the wedding ceremony to her late father, a philosophy professor in Vietnam.
Wedding-moon Becomes Honeymoon Lannhi and Daniel, who share a passion for adventure, arrived in Belize (from their home outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan) the week before everyone to coordinate all the wedding plans—and for what they called their wedding-moon! (And they also remained on the island for their honeymoon, lingering in the love of friends and family.) One bit of magic during their pre-wedding adventure was the wedding cake. Lannhi brought a sandcastle cake mold with her, found a baker on the island, and a "white chocolate seashell-covered, Belizean rum-filled" magical wedding cake was created! Leaving the mold behind with the baker who now makes "sandcastle cakes" as her Christmas specialty, Lannhi and Daniel feel like a little piece of them will always be in Belize. "My best memories of planning the wedding," Lannhi concluded, "was that we were able to infuse small but meaningful pieces of us throughout it all. And how that same sense of fun, adventure and deep connection to each other and with those we love have truly become part of our marriage."
PHOTOGRAPHS BY: Jill Higgins |
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