Guests watched Marie disappear from the reception more than once that evening, each time returning in something entirely different. She started the day in a sculptural Mikado wedding gown, later changed into a beaded reception dress made for dancing, then into a Vietnamese áo dài before ending the night in a Korean hanbok alongside Joseph. Every outfit had been custom made, and every change marked another part of the celebration.
That thread carried through the rest of this multicultural Oklahoma wedding, too. Pottery appeared on every reception table. Family traditions shaped the ceremony and reception. Even the evening’s timeline was built around changing into custom outfits that represented different parts of their cultures. After five years together, Marie and Joseph found plenty of ways to make the celebration unmistakably theirs.
What We Love About This Multicultural Oklahoma Wedding
- Five custom-made looks that carried the celebration from ceremony to reception
- Hand-thrown pottery vessels made by the groom for every guest table
- A lion dance that introduced the couple’s Vietnamese outfit change
- Traditional Vietnamese table greetings followed by Korean hanbok greetings
- A bilingual MC who kept guests laughing with games between outfit changes
Featured Vendor:
Sierra Ellis Photography
Why They Commissioned Every Major Outfit
Rather than finding outfits that already existed, Marie and Joseph designed nearly everything themselves. Marie worked with Glam by Nanie in Houston to create a Mikado gown with a basque waist, trumpet silhouette, corset bodice, and delicate beading that tapered into the skirt. A dramatic overskirt gave the gown its fuller silhouette before coming off for the reception, allowing her to dance without needing a bustle.
Her second dress couldn’t have been more different. Designed by Lotus Design in Ho Chi Minh City, it was covered in hanging beads that caught every movement on the dance floor. Joseph approached his tuxedo the same way. Working with Duan Tailor in Ho Chi Minh City, he selected the fabric, lapels, button placement, cufflinks, and finishing details himself.
The custom pieces didn’t stop there. Marie designed a lace-trimmed veil alongside her reception dress, while the couple also commissioned Vietnamese áo dài and collaborated with Joseph’s mother to create a traditional Korean hanbok. Instead of choosing between their cultures, they made room for both.
Honoring Family During Their Catholic Ceremony
Before guests arrived at St. Andrew Dung Lac Catholic Church, Marie and Joseph shared a private first look and exchanged personal vows.”We had a first look and read private personal vows to each other right before our church ceremony began.”
Inside the church, Marie sang the responsorial psalm herself, drawing on years she had spent leading music for her church youth group. A live string quartet accompanied different parts of the Mass, adding another layer to the ceremony without overshadowing it.
The couple also found a quiet way to honor Joseph’s father, who had passed away six months before the wedding. A “Reserved from Heaven” sign was placed beside his mother’s pew so his presence would be acknowledged during the ceremony.
As the Mass came to a close, Marie and Joseph presented bouquets to both sets of parents before walking through a shower of rose petals outside the church.
Starting With The Venue Made Every Other Decision Easier
Before thinking about flowers or stationery, Marie and Joseph searched for a venue that matched both their budget and the style they imagined.
They found it in the 1930s Art Deco ballroom at Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall. The soaring ceilings, polished wood floors, and oversized mirrors already had the clean, classic look they loved, so many of their design decisions followed the architecture instead of competing with it.
Marie handled most of the planning herself because she genuinely enjoyed it, bringing in a partial planner to help refine logistics and recommend ideas they hadn’t considered. When it came to choosing vendors, the couple spent hours reviewing portfolios, meeting teams, and making sure each vendor understood both the visual direction and the cultural traditions they wanted to include.
Their budget reflected their priorities. Food, photography, attire, décor and rentals, and flowers came first, while everything else was adjusted around those categories.
The Pottery Lesson That Changed Everything
Marie and Joseph first met on Hinge, bonding over a shared love of travel, food, and spending time outdoors. What was supposed to be a simple tea date stretched into an afternoon of wandering Oklahoma City together. They stopped for snacks and drinks, browsed bookstores, and kept finding new things to talk about.
A few dates later, Joseph invited Marie to meet his roommates and his dog, Theo. Then he introduced her to something else that mattered to him.”He taught me how to throw pottery on his pottery wheel with so much patience and care. From that moment, I realized that Joseph was very special.” Five years later, pottery would make its way into their wedding.
Pottery Found Its Way To Every Guest Table
Some couples personalize their reception with monograms or signature cocktails. Marie and Joseph brought pottery. Because one of their earliest memories together happened at Joseph’s pottery wheel, he threw a ceramic vessel for every guest table while Marie helped glaze each one before they were delivered to their florist.
The flowers changed from table to table. The pottery stayed. It’s the kind of detail most guests probably admired without knowing the full story, but for the couple, it quietly connected their wedding back to one of the first moments they knew they had something special.
Games, Lion Dancing, And Plenty Of Outfit Changes
There wasn’t much sitting once the reception began. While Marie and Joseph stepped away for outfit changes, their bilingual MC kept everyone entertained with games in both Vietnamese and English, handing out gift cards to the winners before introducing the next part of the evening.
A lion dance welcomed the couple back into the ballroom wearing their Vietnamese áo dài, where they began traditional table greetings. Halfway through, they changed again into Korean hanbok to continue greeting the remaining guests. Representatives from each table gave speeches before joining in playful games to “earn” the opportunity to present their wedding gifts.
Only then did the evening shift into cake cutting, a champagne tower, bouquet toss, and an open dance floor. One of the groomsmen, a breakdancer, made sure nobody stayed seated for long.
Looking back, Marie says they honestly wouldn’t change anything. Even the parts guests never saw seemed to run smoothly. “Surprisingly, there were not any big challenges or surprises that came up during our wedding day! And if there were, our wedding planner handled it and we never heard about it!”
For couples planning their own multicultural Oklahoma wedding, Marie’s advice is quite practical. Decide early where your budget matters most, communicate clearly with your vendors, and don’t be afraid to build the celebration around the parts of your lives that already bring you together. In their case, that meant custom clothing, family traditions, pottery, music, and a reception that kept revealing something new from beginning to end.
The Wedding Team:
Photography – Sierra Ellis Photography
Event Planning – Summer of 90′ Weddings
Venue – St. Andrew Dung Lac Catholic Church
Reception Venue – Civic Center Music Hall
Floral Design – Emmaline Rose Floral
Catering – Bistro B
Cake – Sweets by Livia
DJ – DJ Limitless
Videography – Transform Visuals
Invitation Design – deus
Makeup + Hair Styling – Taylor K. Beal
Wedding Dress – Glam by Nanie
Bridal Accessories – Azazie
Groom’s Apparel – Duan
Groomsmen’s Apparel – SuitShop
Rentals – Marianne’s Rentals
Favors – The Matcha Station
Bartending – Blue Label Bartending OKC
Custom Signage – Creative Etch
Master of Ceremony – Azora Events
Content Creator – Reel Simple Moments
Lion Dancing – St. Andrew Dung Lac Lion Dancing Association
Photo Booth – Red Dirt Image
Vietnamese Ao Dai – Ann Design House
Custom Veil and Reception Dress – Lotus Design
Ice Cream – Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store
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