A Wedding on the California Coast With a Lucky Red Barn and “Friends of Honor”

Judy and Danvu met in 2013, on the first day of a drawing class in San Francisco. When she asked him to borrow his pencil sharpener, the two hit it off—and the rest is history. “We are now both industrial designers with a shared obsession over craft and details, and have been inseparable creative partners ever since,” Judy says. They got engaged in August 2018 at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. “Danvu was so nervous, he dropped the ring!” Judy recalls. “It made for quite a memorable moment. The ring was so shiny as it was bouncing on the pavement.”

The couple chose to get married at Straus Home Ranch, a family-owned farmhouse overlooking the ocean in Marshall, California. The couple was drawn to the modern red barn on the property. “Red is an auspicious color in Asian celebrations, so we thought it was a sign that it was meant to be!” Judy says. The property also offered a space that was perfect for an important pre-wedding ritual. In Vietnamese weddings, it's customary for the groom to greet the bride’s family at her home before the wedding. “As a nod to this tradition, our respective families gathered at the house the day before for an intimate rehearsal dinner on the lawn," explain the duo.

From the rehearsal dinner to the wedding that unfolded the next day, the pair looked to Erica Adams Design to help them meld their Chinese and Vietnamese cultures. “We wanted our celebration to bridge our two cultures in a meaningful way that was traditional, yet modern and fun,” the bride says. Read on to see all the details of this couple’s bayside wedding, captured by Sasithon Photography.

The couple enlisted Hungry Workshop to create their color-blocked invitation suite, giving guests their first glimpse of the wedding-day palette of neutrals and various shades of jade.

Before they tied the knot, Judy and Danvu held an incense ceremony to honor their beloved late grandparents. They created an altar with fresh flowers and fruit offerings and wore matching outfits. “We wanted a modern take on a traditional Vietnamese gown (Áo dài) for our incense ceremony,” Judy says. “Kaarem made us his-and-hers Áo dàis from one long piece of custom hand-dyed silk with the textures and pattern of local clay.”

The bride accessorized with her other grandmother's gold bangles, which were hand-engraved with phoenix and dragons; the family heirlooms helped her feel close to this matriarch, who could not attend the celebration (she lives in Hong Kong).

Judy and Danvu shared a private first look just before the wedding ceremony. “We have been together for so long, and know each other inside and out, but being able to enjoy this moment together after being apart all morning was very special,” Judy says. For Danvu, the moment took his breath away, as it was the first time seeing Judy in her wedding dress. “I literally burst into tears when I saw her,” he says.

Judy found her Carly Cushni gown with cape sleeves and a low back while tagging along on one of Danvu’s work trips to New York. “I had a very short time to make a decision, but I went with my gut,” she says. “After the wedding was postponed a year, Cushnie discontinued her bridal collection and I felt very fortunate to be able to wear her design.” She paired her dress with Sophie Buhai pearl drop earrings, crystal hoops from Abacus Row, and a posy bouquet of calla lilies. Danvu donned a custom dark green wool suit from Tailor’s Keep with a textured gray tie paired with black Cole Haan oxfords. 

Rather than a traditional wedding party, the couple chose to have friends of honor. “We wanted them to really enjoy their time and not have to worry about having too many responsibilities, so we thought a friends of honor title was appropriate!” Judy says.

The unofficial wedding party wore a mix of earth tones to complement the venue’s landscape. “Our wedding also took place in the fall, so to match that autumnal coloring, the girls wore muted greens and maroons. The boys wore dark solid blue and gray suits,” Judy explains.

The couple envisioned a ceremony with symbolic flowers from Southeast Asia contrasted with coastal elements inspired by Northern California. The aisle was lined with clouds of oncidium orchids blended with local hydrangeas and native grasses. “To pay an homage to our loved ones who passed, we had flowers and vines overflowing onto the benches where they would be seated, representing the presence of our grandparents,” Judy says. The altar was decorated with arrangements in custom-made ceramic Suibans from BZIPPY in Los Angeles. Gray and blue blankets were folded neatly on the benches to keep attendees warm during the ceremony.

Guests strolled up the hill and enjoyed a view of the water as they were seated for the service. Shortly after they were settled, Danvu walked down the aisle with his mother to “Good Days” by SZA. Judy’s brother, Donald, played Elvis Presley’s “Falling in Love” on the acoustic guitar as she made her way down the aisle, her own mother by her side.

Danvu’s cousin, William, served as their officiant. “He did a beautiful job in telling anecdotes of how we all met and how we were perfect for each other,” Judy says. The couple exchanged their own vows, and once they were pronounced husband and wife, celebrated back down the aisle to “Turn Up the Sunshine” by Diana Ross and Tame Impala. “When we finished the ceremony and walked down the hill to the barn, we just burst into tears,” Judy says. 

Guests caught up with Judy and Danvu to wave them off for a quick getaway ride after the ceremony. “Camping and being outdoors is a huge part of who we are as a couple and it was only fitting to feature Judy’s brother’s small Suzuki Samurai 4x4 and engulf it in flowers,” Danvu says. They sped away to take portraits with their photographer before joining guests at the reception.

At the cocktail hour, the couple opted for neutral rattan and wood décor. They brought in a half moon outdoor bar embellished with a palm date and grass arrangement crawling up the side. “We found this porcelain baby statue holding up a peach during one of our walks through San Francisco’s Chinatown and it brought a smile to our face!” Judy says “So we decided to style it with a tri-lingual bar menu.”

The newlyweds designed all their day-of paper themselves and went with recycled grass and hay paper to highlight the natural landscape. They served a lychee martini and a “rice-a-groni” cocktail as signature drinks. “We also wanted to have a mocktail option dedicated to our moms and family members who are nondrinkers and styled the drink to be served in a porcelain Chinese tea mug,” Judy says. They had '60s Saigon rock and roll music playing to get the party started. 

The couple’s loved ones enjoyed passed appetizers like soy-braised mushrooms on wonton chips and garlic shrimp baguettes during the cocktail hour. They also added a photo booth.

Guests found their table assignments for dinner on a display decorated with candles and an oversized Chinese fan. 

Judy and Danvu made their grand entrance at the reception on a blue Vespa. “Vespas are the main mode of transportation and many of Danvu’s family members had them growing up in Vietnam,” Judy says. “I’m just glad that we didn’t crash, as Danvu is not the most confident on two wheels.”

The couple’s reception design was inspired by the night markets in Southeast Asia. “Some of the best times when we were traveling with family were walking through the streets of Hong Kong and exploring food night markets in Taiwan,” Judy says. “To recreate that feeling, we filled the barn ceiling with clusters of rattan lanterns and levitating grass sculptures.”

They went with neutral ceramic dinnerware and woven flatware paired with chopsticks on top of jade-glazed chopstick holders that the couple had custom-made by Merritt Ceramics as favors for guests. The centerpieces were ikebana-inspired arrangements with orchids arranged in custom clay compotes the couple designed with friends. They also created custom pine lazy Susans for each table as a nod to family-style dinners at Chinese banquet halls. “We were inspired by traditional Vietnamese-Chinese wedding venues growing up, so it was important to recreate that experience for our guests,” Judy says. “The lazy Susans were also a really fun way for the guests to interact and share food amongst each other which is not typically seen in Western weddings.”

Inside the reception barn, the couple designed another bar, which was nestled within a red bougainvillea tree as a nod to the garden at Danvu’s family home. “The bar was adorned with small trinkets and treasures that you would’ve found at your grandmother’s house,” Judy says. “We displayed a traditional Chinese calendar, which my grandmother would tear away every day revealing the date.” As is tradition at Vietnamese weddings, the couple had Remy Martin XO displayed as the drink of choice at the bar. “Our guests had shots of it and we weren’t complaining!” the bride says.

The couple created a modern interpretation of the double happiness motif, which was made from local dried flowers. “The sign was levitating behind us and added a big impact to the reception,” Judy says. For dinner, they served a family-style meal featuring two symbolic main entrées: Chinese style steamed fish and roasted duck. 

Desserts were displayed on woven bamboo trays and torn Chinese calendar pages set on a vintage glass shelf. The display was embellished with local chrysanthemums, fruit vines in Chinese porcelain bud vases, and various ceramic vessels. Sweets included Asian-inspired pastries, banana custard eclairs, and passion fruit, caramel, and cashew cookies. They offered a singler-tier wedding cake, too: The strawberry and jasmine cream sponge cake was adorned with local pansies.

Judy and Danvu chose a remix of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” as their first dance. “We would listen to this song during camping trips and [the moon] was [what we looked] up to when we were at opposite ends of the world,” Judy says. “We had our friends of honor bum rush the dance floor when the song transitioned and it was a perfect cue for all the guests to come and dance, too!”

Guests took home Mama Teav’s hot garlic oil along with silk-screened canvas bags featuring Judy's father’s artwork as favors. Following their nuptials, the couple spent time in Maui for their mini-moon and plan on going on another trip to Southeast Asia or Mexico soon. To couples in the middle of the planning process, Judy and Danvu recommend taking inspiration from what you enjoy as a couple. “Try not to take too much inspiration from Pinterest and social media,” Judy says. “Don’t be afraid of having bold and sometimes quirky ideas—and remember to have fun because it’s your day!”