Moody Shades of Black, Blue and Purple Set the Tone for This Intimate Vow Renewal in Vietnam

After spending the first part of their marriage long-distance, Milan and Hung celebrated finally being in the same place with an intimate vow renewal in Vietnam with a moody color palette of black, blue and purple. "Unlike other couples, we began our marriage apart from one other," explains Milan. "After the wedding, I had to return to Australia to continue my education, while Hung stayed in Vietnam to work. Our two-year-long-distance love story meant that we did not fully feel the experience of marriage because the travels and reunions were frequently short and infrequent. Until the end of 2019, the concerns were so obvious that we needed to rethink and redefine shared aims and key life values. That's also when we realize that this long-distance story has come to an end and that we should prioritize family life, which has become our top focus since then. It's interesting how our one-year wedding anniversary marks an official milestone for our married life—when we were truly together. So we wanted to attempt something truly remarkable, to remember this new beginning with a memorable collection of photos taken by people we can't stop thinking about.”

To start the day, Milan and Hung enjoyed a photo shoot in their home. Milan even re-wore her original wedding gown as a surprise for Hung. After the at-home photo shoot, the couple celebrated their wedding anniversary with a private dinner decorated with lush floral arrangements. Milan explains that their wedding had "a fairy-tale-like, dreamy aesthetic with a pastel color palette and watercolor." To juxtapose their original event, the couple went in the opposite direction visually for this vow renewal. "We decided to have something quite the opposite—dark colors, heavier textures. Yet the general vibe had to be chic and classy." Milan goes on to explain that "we wanted to try something dramatically different from our wedding to reflect our internal growth as we grow old together. But the concept was very tricky to implement, so we needed to gather the best vendors for this shoot. We rented a large spacious photo studio. We had a big printed backdrop with arranged florals and a neon sign with our wedding hashtag #till95."

While the aesthetic of the day were an intentional departure from the couple's wedding decor, as a nod to how they've grown as a duo, they also harkened back to their wedding day by enlisting some of the same vendors. "We had our favorite bartender (the one that created the cocktail menu for us at our wedding) to prepare cocktails for us to enjoy," says Milan. "Our wedding band was there to play live for our dancing, and a sweetheart table was set up for our 'love poems' exchange. Every part of the event was very meaningful."