Day 2: Khoa + Stephany | Portland Cambodian Wedding at the Melody Ballroom | Portland, OR

6/25/2019

Day 2: Khoa + Stephany | Melody Ballroom Portland, OR Wedding

Melody Ballroom Portland, OR Wedding

Day 2: Khoa + Stephany | Melody Ballroom Portland, OR Wedding

Khoa and Stephany had a 2-day wedding celebration in Portland, OR staring with a Vietnamese ceremony and parade on Friday afternoon and a huge all-day wedding Cambodian celebration on Saturday…and it was INCREDIBLE! To make this each day of their wedding weekend shine, I wanted to separate Friday’s ceremonies from Saturdays to get a feel for both culture’s wedding vibes.

If you missed Day 1: Khoa and Stephany’s Vietnamese Wedding Ceremony, check it out here.

The Cambodian culture is SO COOL and wonderfully unique with bright vibrant colors, importance of family everywhere, and many ceremonies that honor family and their new marriage. I can’t get over how many ceremonies there are and all the fun outfits they changed into for each ceremony and event. It’s a lot, so I’ll try to break it down for you!!

Their Cambodian wedding day started out with another parade of Khoa’s family walking up to Stephany’s house requesting permission to marry her and come into her home. Khoa held a pka sla (white seeds found in a palm tree pod) as an offering to Stephany’s parents. Khoa’s family is then invited in to start the various ceremonies and exchange wedding rings.

First ceremony was the hair cutting and the ancestors offering ceremony. Each family member takes turns cutting off a piece of hair from the bride and groom to symbolize cutting away your old life for the new life of marriage. Everyone blesses them as they cut the hair (some pretended to cut their hair, and some unfortunately cut their real hair lol). Then Khoa and Stephany changed into another outfit for the next ceremony.

The Second ceremony was the Candle Blessing, Red String,Hand Tying and Sword ceremony. Family members bless the couple with tying a red string around their wrists and bless them with holy water-soaked flowers as the couple is holding a blessed sword. Family members who are married go around and bless them and share experiences about marriage and protecting them. At the end of the ceremony, everyone throws rice and flowers at the bride and groom to celebrate!

To finish off that ceremony, the bride and groom walk around the living room 3 times. The parents thank everyone for coming and honor each family member. Family is so important for this culture and you can definitely feel the love when hanging out with them all.

We then headed to the Melody Ballroom and did some more classic wedding portraits with their wedding party and some of just Stephany and Khoa in downtown Portland, OR. These are some of my favorite shots!! AHH!

Soon after that, the repletion started where Khoa and Stephany greeted every guest and offered them a flower as a thanks for coming in their receiving line. The Parents again welcomed everyone and thanked all their family and friends for coming. Stephany and Khoa walked around to each table greeting them and offering another gift for coming while the table of guests also offered their gifts. This gift exchange at every table is apart of their Cambodian culture and it was really special to see.

After the first dance, it was party time and the night was so amazing to be apart of!

I hope you enjoy Day 2 of Khoa and Stephany’s Cambodian Wedding Ceremony!!

Vendors:

Photography: Works by Sarah Jane Photography

Venue: Melody Ballroom, Portland, OR

Wedding Gowns: Davids Bridal (white dress) & Savana Long (Traditional Lhmer Outfits)

Bridesmaids Gowns: Lulus

Groom + Groomsmen Attire: Kenneth Cole/ Macy’s

Cake/ Dessert: Whole Foods Market + Rathana’s Catering

Caterer: Rathana’s Catering

Favors: Traditional Scarves sent from family in Cambodia

Florist: Mai Doan (groom’s sister)