Tammy & Joohee

BRISBANE, QLD, 16 NOV 2019

Tammy Nguyen and Joohee Oh met through a mutual friend. “Joohee proposed to me after we returned home from dinner and shopping in the city. As I entered our bedroom, I felt an obstruction against the door and immediately suspected an intruder in the house. But when I pushed the door open and turned on the light, I found our bed and floor covered in colourful balloons with the words ‘MARRY ME!’ spelled out on the bed frame with balloons. Overwhelmed with happiness, I turned around to Joohee and cried as he held me in his arms and asked me the question I had been waiting for, ‘Will you marry me?’. With tears rolling down my face, I responded with a question of my own, ‘Why aren’t you on one knee?’ Joohee laughed and explained that he was too excited, then got down on one knee and asked me again. I joyfully said ‘Yes!’. Despite being together for 11.5 years, Joohee managed to surprise me with the sweetest and most perfect proposal. We got engaged on 16 November 2018 and tied the knot exactly one year later.”

“Our wedding theme was ‘Modern + City Chic’. Incorporating a traditional tea ceremony made it an even more meaningful and unforgettable celebration. Despite our different cultural backgrounds (I’m Vietnamese and Joohee is Korean), our families embraced the Vietnamese culture and made it a truly special day. We had our tea ceremony in the morning (wearing traditional Vietnamese Bride and Groom costumes) then changed into our wedding attire for our first look at the Fantauzzo Hotel Rooftop at Howard Smith Wharves (now Crystalbrook Vincent). Prior to the ceremony on the deck, we had drinks, canapés, gelato and donut stations and the Kombi Kartel photo booth was available throughout the night. We had 220 guests seated in the Rivershed with a giant cherry blossom tree at the back of the room with smaller cherry blossom trees and candelabras as centrepieces. We had a dedicated ‘kids corner’ with bean bags and power ports for them to charge their ipads and phones. Some of the adults ended up in the kids corner!”

“The presence of our family and friends who had traveled from overseas (South Korea, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea) and interstate added to the sense of occasion. Above all, the highlight was exchanging our vows in front of all our loved ones who had been a part of our journey over the past 11.5 years. The day was filled with emotions and I found myself tearing up during all the significant moments, including the tea ceremony, vows, and speeches. In other words, I was crying tears of joy (basically like a baby) the whole day!”

“I surprised Joohee by getting his best man, Chris, to do the first look before me. Dressed in a veil with a bouquet, Chris walked up and tapped Joohee on the shoulder. He turned around and they both laughed so much!

“As our European honeymoon plans were put on hold due to the pandemic, we decided to celebrate a different kind of trip - a babymoon. We were thrilled to find out that we were expecting a baby and wanted to take some time to relax and enjoy each other’s company before our little one arrived. We chose Hayman Island as our beach destination which gave us the chance to unwind, soak up the sun, and enjoy some quality time together. Everything changed when our son arrived. The moment we held him in our arms, we knew our lives would never be the same. It was a love like we had never experienced before. Our wedding day was special, but nothing could compare to the joy and happiness our son brought into our lives.”

“The day itself will fly by, so make sure to savour every moment and keep in mind that some things may not go as planned. For instance, we had organised sparklers and matchbox bonbonnieres for each guest to light up as we departed in the evening, but the scorching heat of over 40 degrees prompted a fire warning from Brisbane City Council, making it unsafe. We had to abandon our outdoor plans but luckily we were still able to have our indoor sparklers.”