At last the time had arrived! Months of waiting and planning and we arrived in the very sunny and hot Nha Trang at 6am after another overnight 15 hour bus journey. Checking into The Ruby hotel for a quick kip and then off for a meeting with our wedding coordinator Gordon, whom we met in the local English bar to discuss the places we needed to visit and how the day would run. The rest of the day we explored some of Nha Trang. Walking along the sea front we was desperate to view our next hotel, the 5* Sunrise beach; Finally we spotted it and it made us all the more excited to check in the following day. We continued our walk along the beautiful sea front to the very large Dam Market in search of a strapless White bra for my dress! Masses of stalls crammed into a circular shaped building, and you can easily become very flustered walking around especially as the heat creeps up on you and the stall holders yell at you to get your attention. Spotting one I asked if there was anywhere I could try it on, Pulling me behind her counter and hastily pulling a very thin threadbare curtain round me she had whipped off my bra before I could blink! Feeling slightly exposed I quickly tried it on, haggled my price and escaped at high speed! Back to the hotel and then out for a giant tasty pizza we had an early night to prepare ourselves for the excitement of seeing our family!
The following day we met up with Gordon, Gail (the registrar) and Cameron (the photographer). A few places to visit, first on the list the restaurant Thuy Duong to discuss the ceremony and the meal. Beforehand though we dropped off our backpacks and checked into the Sunrise hotel. After explaining to the reception that we couldn't go to the room immediately as we had wedding preparation to sort out we jumped straight into a taxi after downing our welcome drink. Arriving at the restaurant we was very pleased. A nice cobbled walkway through a small garden led to some amazing views over Nha Trang bay. It was a beautiful location for the wedding. We had heard top reviews on trip advisor and read that it was meant to be an excellent seafood restaurant. After a few deliberations we finally decided on a set meal for 11 people...
First course: Spring rolls and a seafood salad.
Second Course: Half a 1kilo Lobster each
Third course: Beef cooked Japanese style
Forth Course: Seafood hotpot
Fifth Course: Mango, Pineapple and Watermelon
Sixth Course: Wedding Cake
An excellent wedding buffet! The restaurant had also said they would decorate the place for free and sort out our wedding cake. All was going well!
The next destination to the florist. After looking through a portfolio I finally decided on White roses and purple/pink orchids. One Bouquet and 7 buttonholes all for £10.50... A bargain! After that we was free to meet up with our family. Back to the Sunrise we could finally check into our room. Arriving at reception we was told we had been upgraded to a Club Suite! We couldn't believe our luck when they showed us our room; I felt like Pretty Woman in the penthouse! A large beautiful room overlooking the beach, complete with a massive bed, big TV and Luxurious jacuzzi bathtub! This was an ideal room for any bride to be to get ready in. They even put chocolates on your pillow every night! We felt very posh especially after we had been slumming through South America! They had also upgraded my mum and dad who was in the suite next door! A great start to our wedding and things were looking very promising and we was getting very excited!
At last our families had arrived; My mum and dad, Jonathan's mum Linda and Stewart, and family friends Phil and Helen, and it was amazing that they were here! After a few tears of joy and cuddles they checked in and then we headed straight to the bar for a good catch up. It was brilliant seeing them and we chatted the night away and went for a delicious meal in the restaurant. We couldn't have been happier and we both went to bed with smiles on our faces.
The following day I nervously attended my hair appointment with my mum. I knew it was a gamble going to a Vietnamese hairdresser but as it had not been cut or coloured for five months I was desperate for it to look perfect for the big day. I thought seen as though everything so far had been a gamble, I may aswell risk my hair too! It started well, Manicure, Pedicure and then choosing the blond colour to be put on my hair. Gail had previously translated in Vietnamese what needed doing when booking my appointment so I was hopeful that they would get it right; however it was obvious that they had never dealt with blonds before, and by the strange techniques used if they had actually coloured hair before. After painting the top of my head with dye I came out looking extremely blond! Unfortunately as it hadn't been applied all to well, some of the blond underneath had also turned a reddish shade too. After a very weirdly done trim to match, I decided it could have been alot worse so went to the supermarket to find some darker brown dye to thread through my hair to break the blond up a little and to paint over the red! It worked, and by the time I'd finished it looked just like I'd just stepped out of the hairdressers at home. Phew!
The following days were spent round the hotel pool and we also went on a day trip to VinPearl island. The longest cable car in the world took us across the sea and dropped us at an amusement park on the other side! After a few roller-coasters, a walk round an amazing Aquarium, we then made our way to the water park to drift around the lazy river and play on the water slides. A great day out!
The wedding day had finally approached! Waking to a stack of wedding cards we was over the moon by the wishes sent and the kind wedding gifts our family and friends had sent us from England! I was treat to a relaxing Vietnamese massage and then after abit of shopping I retired back to the room to get ready. At 2pm the flowers and the hairdresser arrived. The flowers where beautiful and I couldn't believe how well they had turned out! My hair style once again began with anticipation; After nearly ending up with horns I had managed to just about get the style i'd pictured and my tiara looked beautiful, Phew again! After a small glass of wine and applying my makeup the time had come to put my dress on... Finally i was ready. My mum and dad were waiting for me and after a few photos we made our way to the restaurant. Luckily it had cooled down a little so I wasn't melting as much! Everything looked great; The restaurant had done a great job of the decorations and as my dad led me up the aisle it was hard not to blubber, especially as everyone was looking at me and I could see my Jonathan welling up abit too! The ceremony went well and as we read our vows our guest number quadrupled as the whole restaurant and staff gathered round to listen in. Finally after the 'I Dos' and a kiss we were husband and wife. Greeting all the guests after the ceremony, and everyone looked fabulous all dressed up, we had some photos taken and then sat down for the meal. The sun gradually came down and it gave a beautiful view over the bay. After the very tasty meal we began to enjoy ourselves. First we had to cut our amazing wedding cake which had little plastic bride and grooms on top and tasted delicious. We also managed to Skype my Sister and Russ, and the rest of Jonathan's family to say hello, which was great to see them as they were hugely missed.
With it being a restaurant it was also filled full of other Vietnamese parties and a karaoke was set up. The Vietnamese sang a few tunes and Stewart also joined in. As with my birthday, if you join in with the Vietnamese then you also automatically become part of their group and their celebration too, so after a few rice wine shots which they poured for everyone, they danced with us and made our night definitely one to remember... especially as they joined in with our first dance to Al Green's Let's stay together! After a tiring night we retired back to the hotel bar for a night cap and another dance and then to bed, both exhausted! Slightly rough the day after we emerged at dinnertime and visited the Happy Buddha; Two big Buddha statues on top of a hill surrounded by a beautiful temple. After lunch at the posh Sailing club it was back to spend our last night with the family before their departure the following day. I cannot believe the speed it had gone and the week was over before we knew it. After saying a very sad farewell to the parents it was time to get on with our adventure once again. Jonathan and I, and Phil and Helen organised a trip to a different hotel to use the pool and the beach for the day as our pool was having maintenance. A beautiful pool sat right next to a golden deserty stretch of sand and it made it the ideal place to relax for our last day in Nha Trang. After a few farewell drinks with Phil and Helen we checked into the Ruby once more to await the bus to Da Lat the following day.
Vietnam was a great place to have a wedding and Jonathan and I will never forget it. The week has flown by and we have some lovely photos, funny videos and happy memories now to treasure, made all the more special by our lovely families! Hayls and Jonathan x