Vietnamese girl works as international wedding officiant

DA NANG - For luxury wedding planners and foreign weddings in Vietnam, the name Nguyen Dang Xuan Binh is a "guarantee" for a successful wedding.

In Vietnam, the trend of modern Western-style weddings has gradually become popular over the past 5 years, along with the proliferation of inter-national marriages, people who have studied and lived abroad, celebrities and the rich.

Xuan Binh (middle) officiated a wedding between a Vietnamese wife and a Western husband in Da Nang, early 2023. Photo: Provided by the character

Xuan Binh, 31 years old, has loved being a bilingual MC since she was a student, so she has constantly studied foreign languages ​​and skills. After graduating, she worked as an event MC, wedding MC, and car saleswoman, and gradually specialized in bilingual MCing for modern weddings.

"Because the profession is so new, I don't know who to ask, so the only way I can learn is to watch foreign wedding videos and ask for experience from professional wedding officiants around the world," she said.

Unlike traditional weddings that usually last for a short time, a modern wedding usually starts from the evening until night, going through three parts: ceremony, party and festival in 6 to 8 hours. The MC's duties last throughout this time.

Xuan Binh shared that during the ceremony, the MC always has to appear cheerful and skillfully avoid leaving in time, so that the bride and groom become the main characters on stage and private in the frames. During the party, Binh usually chats with guests to invite some people to come up on stage to share about the past or funny stories about the bride and groom. "Usually this is the most calm, happy and emotional part," she said.

The ceremony is often prone to accidents due to guests having too much fun, especially weddings held by the pool. The officiant always observes and reminds guests to be careful not to push or fall, and to be careful with their watches and phones.

Xuan Binh shares about the love story of the bride and groom before they appeared at a wedding at a resort in Hoa Hai, Da Nang, April 2023. Photo: Character provided

Gradually, Binh's clientele expanded to include foreign couples who chose Vietnam as their destination wedding. This reality prompted her to take a course to obtain an international officiant certificate and stay ahead of the trend. "Most foreign couples require their officiants to have a professional degree, so I decided to go to school," Xuan Binh said.

In early 2023, the female MC registered for a course at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy in the UK. Binh said that the course provides knowledge of wedding ceremonies and rituals of many countries around the world; script writing skills and love story transmission, as well as hosting in many styles. It also helps her understand more about the mindset of foreign weddings and the wishes of foreign couples when holding weddings in Vietnam.

After four months, Xuan Binh received an international wedding officiant certificate and became the first Vietnamese person to possess this certificate. "The course helped me to strengthen my view on my profession, that an officiant is someone who connects guests, helps the bride and groom to flourish and helps wedding planners complete their tasks," the 31-year-old girl shared.

From leading a few weddings a year, in recent years Xuan Binh has been booked every weekend. Many clients even book with her a year in advance. "In 7 years of working in this profession, I have led more than 300 weddings, 20% of which are foreign couples," she shared.

Among them, Binh said that she was once invited to officiate a Catholic wedding with 700 guests, attended by Archbishop Joseph, priests, nuns and many dioceses. From the welcoming music to the music sung by the singers, all were hymns and Christmas songs, giving a very sacred feeling. Being the officiant at that wedding, she knew how much the bride and groom trusted her.

Or earlier this year, she was invited to officiate at an Australian couple’s wedding in Da Nang. On the wedding day, a storm hit, destroying the venue and more than two billion VND in flowers. The family was very sad, but they quickly adapted and moved the ceremony indoors. During the wedding, the groom’s grandmother, who was over 90 years old, sang loudly, then everyone joined in. In the small space, everyone sang along to the melody, moving everyone.

"Two weeks ago, I also hosted a secret wedding, with no guests, just the bride and groom and the officiant. That wedding made me really feel more deeply about my profession, that besides the two main characters, the officiant is the most important," Binh said.

Groom Carlos Aster Taguba and bride Pham Phuong, who got married in mid-November, said they had a wonderful wedding thanks to Xuan Binh. Carlos owns an event planning company and has been in the industry for 10 years, although he does not specialize in weddings. There were many shortcomings when planning the wedding, and Binh saw them and fixed them right away.

"As someone in the industry, I can see how he tries to invite everyone to join the party. My grandmother is 87 years old but she still dances because she's so happy. Any wedding with Binh as the bride and groom is a breeze," Carlos shared.

Van Nguyen, founder of The Planners , a leading high-end wedding planner brand in Vietnam, said that Xuan Binh is the most professional bilingual MC in the industry, because she can not only host weddings of many cultures but also knows how to capture or create different moments throughout the wedding. She always pays attention to writing the script to match the couple's personality, and is very proactive in handling situations that arise during the wedding.

"In Vietnam today, apart from an Australian officiant living in Hoi An, only Binh has an international officiant certificate," said Van Nguyen.

Nguyen Dang Xuan Binh before officiating a wedding at a resort in Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang in July 2023. Photo: Character provided

Recently, Xuan Binh decided to resign from his position as sales manager at an auto company to fully pursue his passion for being a wedding officiant.

"People often tell me 'doing too many weddings will make you lose your luck'. I just feel lucky to be present on the happiest day of the couple, receiving the beautiful and positive energy of love, family, and friendship that makes my life always bright", the first female wedding officiant in Vietnam shared.

Phan Duong

Vnexpress.net