Getting married is undoubtedly one of the most important events of all. Therefore, almost every nation in the world considers the wedding ceremony as a great celebration in life. Vietnamese people are no exception.
Before starting a Vietnamese wedding ceremony, many important things need to be prepared. In particular, the wedding dress as an essential element cannot be ignored.
The Vietnamese wedding attire is always prepared carefully by the bride and bridegroom as well as the people who have the honor of attending the wedding ceremony, making the ceremony more formal.
The first thing to know is the different parts of a wedding, which influence the clothes that you wear.
A Vietnamese marriage ceremony will be divided into two main parts: the wedding ceremony and the congratulatory party.
The wedding ceremony is always considered the most important and indispensable part of the Vietnamese culture. The party usually takes place after the ceremony is completed and is not mandatory.
Depending on the economic conditions of each family, the party may be grand or omitted. This does not affect the fact that the couple is officially recognized as husband and wife.
Because of the difference between these two parts of the ceremony and celebration, the dresses at the wedding are various. Please check more details below!
1. Ceremonial attire for a wedding
Bride’s costume:
In Vietnam, except in some ethnic minority areas, the traditional Vietnamese wedding dresses that brides often wear in the vital wedding ceremonies of their lives are Ao Dai and turban, which have become mandatory attire.
The bride’s dress is mostly pink or red because these colors represent the new, bright, and auspicious. At the same time, they also chose to wear a light jacket of the same color outside. The bride’s coat always has an eye-catching pattern design with a dragon and phoenix image or a symbol of luck to create a prominent highlight for the main character in the wedding.
The bride wears this clothing throughout the official wedding ceremonies, such as offering incenses to ancestor, meeting relatives, and coming to her husband’s house.
Groom’s outfit:
If the bride is required to wear a traditional wedding dress, then the clothing requirement for the groom is much simpler. He can clothe himself in a long classic outfit, an innovative Ao Dai, or an elegant vest. The only mandatory feature for the groom’s outfit is polite and bright.
However, in ethnic minority areas, most grooms choose to wear their own traditional costumes. For example, with the H’Mong people, the groom usually wears a white shirt underneath, a dark shirt with nice patterns on the sleeves, and wide-leg black pants.
Costumes for participants in the ceremony:
Most of the people who are invited to participate in the ceremony of a wedding are the family, close relatives of the bride and groom. A very few close friends of the bride and groom will receive the honor of attending this ceremony.
To ensure solemnity and courtesy for the ceremony, most attendees at the wedding have to choose their outfits carefully. For men, the main outfit is a suit, including trousers, a light shirt, a tie, and a vest. Elderly men often choose to wear male traditional ao dai and scarves with the aim of increasing their respect.
Meanwhile, when Vietnamese women are invited to attend the wedding ceremony, most are required to wear traditional long dresses (Ao dai).
A small number of young people or close friends can choose modern Vietnamese clothes freely, such as skirts, or fashionable dresses, but must ensure polite, discreet, and bright elements.
While there are no strict rules on the colors of the wedding dress, most guests are aware that they only choose cheerful or vibrant tones, such as red, pink, or green. Dard colors like black, gray, or purple should not be worn to a Vietnamese wedding because they are associated with misfortune and unhappiness, bringing bad luck to the new couple.
The important suggestion is that you should ask the host about what you should wear to suit their wedding ceremony in order to be prepared more carefully.
2. Costumes appearing at the wedding party
Bride’s outfit:
At this time, the brides are no longer bound by the dress code as in the ceremony but are free to choose for their preferences.
Most Vietnamese brides choose modern-style wedding dress designs.
Depending on the economic conditions of each person, the choice of each bride may be different. A few choose their own designer to make their wedding dress. Meanwhile, most Vietnamese brides choose to rent a suitable wedding dress for their wedding day rather than buy it.
The bride can choose to wear one, or two wedding dresses or maybe more at her wedding party.
Of course, regardless of the choice, the beauty and splendor factor is still the top selection criterion of every Vietnamese bride.
Groom costume:
Just like at the ceremony, at the wedding party, the groom’s costume is not too fancy. Most of the options are suits with trousers, a white shirt, a light tie, and an elegant vest.
Clothes for guests at a wedding party:
The main features of the dress code for guests attending a wedding party are beautiful, new, and bright. This makes the special party of the bride and the groom more lively and radiant.
Of course, costumes that are too colorful or outfits only for worshiping occasions should not appear at a wedding party.
In short, wedding dress for party time according to Vietnamese tradition, women can wear traditional ao dai, innovative ao dai, and modern dresses (in the style of a gala dinner). For men can wear a shirt, and trousers, possible to add a vest.
3. How much does a wedding dress cost?
The traditional dress of the bride for a wedding ceremony can be from 2,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND. A big difference comes from various materials, decoration on the dress, hiring a designer, or already-made sold in shops on the street.
You can find professional tailors in Hanoi, Hoi An Ancient Town, Da Nang, and Saigon. They will offer reasonable prices for the wedding dress, saving you a lot of money without renting a designer.
The modern wedding dress for the bride to use at a party is quite expensive compared to the living standard of Vietnamese people. It costs from 10,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND.
A new modern wedding dress by hiring a professional designer can cost from 100 million to a few billions of dong. This price is only for a small number of rich buyers.
Bridal gowns are mostly rented at wedding dress rental shops. Depending on the newness and beauty of the dress, the price ranges from 1,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND each for a rental of 2 to 3 days.
The groom’s wedding suit is priced the same as the current vest styles. Price levels depend on the fabric and the store’s reputation. The average price of a suit ranges from 2,500,000 VND to 6,000,000 VND.
Ready-to-wear suits are reasonably priced but not the preferred choice because ready-made suits often do not fit everyone’s body. And with the thought, the wedding is only once in a lifetime, so the groom often orders himself satisfactory clothes.
4. Can you see many wedding dress designers in Vietnam?
Because the price is quite high for choosing a specific designer for wedding dresses and suits, it seems impossible to find a designer specializing in wedding dresses in Vietnam.
Usually, a few rich people will ask famous designers (such as general clothing designers) to design and sew on demand.
Famous clothing designers concentrate in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. In other cities, almost no famous designers can be found.
Now is your choice for a wedding dress to attend an important wedding in Vietnam.
And, please tell me if the guide above gives you an idea for choosing costumes!
Or, do you want to ask us any questions about clothes for weddings?