Tiffany and Jake’s Asian-fusion Tampa wedding was an elegant evening filled with traditional Laotian festivities, colorful attire, and a blending of cultural cuisine and music. The bride and groom wed with a wish-tying ceremony surrounded by friends and family before celebrating in a chic ballroom reception.

“My family is from a southeast Asian country called Laos. It has been my dream to do a traditional Laotian wedding with modern elements. A Laotian wedding is very different from many southeast Asian cultures. It includes a parade for the groom, an emphasis on respect and gratitude for our parents, wedding guests tying strings to our wrists as blessings, custom silk garments from Laos, and so much more. We chose it because it celebrated my family’s culture and gave our guests a unique experience they have never seen before. The Laos community is large but tight knit in the Tampa Bay Area,” the bride shared. “We would describe our wedding as colorful, cultural fusion, and regal elegance. Our colors were creams, beiges, golds, with pops of muted corals. We wanted a neutral color scheme to complement our colorful Laotian silk garments. In Laotians weddings, you wear a color versus white. We chose a rich burgundy red for our ceremony outfits.”

The couple’s families were at the center of the wedding day experience through the meaningful cultural elements that paid homage to the bride’s heritage with traditional cuisine, attire, and favors,

“Our wedding was unique due to the cultural experience but also very informal which is what we emphasized to our guests. Laotians love sharing their culture. Seeing the intricate ceremony centerpieces is something our guests loved the most. Only very few people in the Laotian community know how to create them and sharing our traditions and culture meant the world to our family. We saw strangers leave as friends, and we saw Americans dancing to traditional Lao music. It truly was a family affair. My mother curated the outfits, my aunties cooked food, our family business, Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill, provided food and drinks, and my godmother did my hair. It took a village, and it was beautiful,” the bride beamed. We are very big foodies so the food and drinks were at the top of our priority. We did a large buffet with food catered and some homemade from my family. My mother and her team of asian aunties hand made many of the hors d’oeuvres and dishes such as handmade egg rolls and crab rangoons. If you did not know what a dish was or the symbolism of something in the ceremony, you could ask a Laotian sitting next to you, and they would be happy to answer.”

In addition to showcasing Tiffany’s culture, the pair also intertwined the family’s beloved business, Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill.

“We had custom koozies as a party favor branding our family business, and our featured cocktail was a spicy margarita called ‘The Fergasack,’” the bride detailed.  

With so many meaningful traditions involved in their cultural-fusion wedding, the native St. Pete couple knew that the celebration would be a whirlwind of special moments that could otherwise feel like a blur. They turned to social media content creators, Behind The Vows, to document the day in a way that preserved all of the ‘in-between’ moments. The result was an authentic and emotionally-charged reel that they were thrilled to share with friends and family.

“Laotian weddings are very chaotic and include so many different elements compared to a traditional American wedding. It was important to us to capture additional moments and interactions that complimented our photographer/videographer. We specifically chose Behind the Vows because of their experience in the Tampa Bay area as well as their understanding of our cultural fusion wedding,” the bride gushed. “After our consultation with Anna Coats and Gabi Mondejar, we knew they were the right people we could trust with content creation. They were so professional and communicative in delivering the content we wanted.”

As an extra special touch, Tiffany’s dad personally serenaded the couple during their first dance, creating a truly unforgettable moment that Tiffany will forever cherish.

“My father sang our first dance. In Laotian weddings the first dance with the bride and groom is a traditional Laotian song. Jake and I practiced so much leading up to it but nothing compared to hearing my dad sing while we danced,” the bride reminisced. “And seeing our bridal party all together in their outfits meant so much to us. Not only did they look amazing but it reminded us how blessed we are to have such supportive friends.”

The Proposal:
Jake and I visited Amsterdam in March. We were on our way to a popular cafe for dutch apple cake when he stopped in the middle of a canal bridge to tie his shoe. Little did I know he pulled out a ring and then asked me to marry him. He even had a photographer posing as a tourist close by to capture the entire moment. I did not get to try the apple cake, so he promised we would go back soon. 

Why did you choose to have a content creator for your wedding day?
Laotian weddings are very chaotic and include so many different elements compared to a traditional American wedding. It was important to us to capture additional moments and interactions that complimented our photographer/videographer. 

We specifically chose Behind the Vows because of their experience in the Tampa Bay area as well as their understanding of our cultural fusion wedding. After our consultation with Anna Coats and Gabi Mondejar, we knew they were the right people we could trust with content creation. They were so professional and communicative in delivering the content we wanted.