For Nguyen Thi Thao Vy, the idea of a wedding had always felt inseparable from light, nature and a sense of quiet magic.

Instead of a traditional ceremony at home or in a banquet hall, the 26-year-old bride from Phu Yen, now living in Dak Lak, spent a year crafting a celebration that would feel entirely her own - one that unfolded beneath the pine trees of Da Lat.

On March 20, she and her partner, Nguyen Huu Nhan, held their wedding in a forest about 10km from the city center, creating a setting that felt closer to a dream than a formal event.

A wedding shaped by shared journeys

The couple’s decision was rooted in how their relationship had grown.

Nhan works as a videographer, while Vy is a photographer. Over four years together, they traveled widely, wandering through small markets, discovering unfamiliar objects and absorbing the distinct cultural rhythms of each place.

“We kept asking ourselves - why not bring that feeling into our wedding day?” Vy said.

That question became the foundation of a ceremony designed less as a formal occasion and more as an experience.

A living, breathing celebration

The wedding space was set among tall pine trees, with the aisle framed by fresh flowers in soft, earthy tones. The atmosphere was warm and intimate, yet quietly cinematic.

Around the main ceremony area, the couple created small interactive corners where guests could weave bracelets, try henna painting, play games, listen to music or visit a small bar.

There was even a curated display of collected trinkets - small objects gathered from their travels - which guests could take home as keepsakes.

“We wanted everyone to feel like they were walking through our own little world,” Vy said. “Something they would remember long after the day ended.”

A ceremony without tradition, but full of meaning

The wedding lasted six hours, from late afternoon into the evening, with just 40 guests - all close friends.

There were no conventional rituals. Instead, the couple exchanged vows in front of their guests, shared a meal and moved freely through moments of music, dance and conversation beneath the forest canopy.

Vy chose not to wear a traditional white gown.

For the ceremony, she wore a brown dress paired with a crown of wildflowers. Later, she changed into a shorter dress inspired by a fairy-like character from a Walt Disney animated film.

The choice of color carried personal meaning.

“I was born in August, in the warmth of autumn,” she said. “Brown feels like late sunlight, like fallen leaves, like the warmth of standing beside the person you love.”

Family, understanding and quiet support

Among those attending were the groom’s parents, Vy’s mother and her younger sister.

At first, the idea of a forest wedding raised some hesitation within the family. But as they came to understand the couple’s vision, those concerns gave way to support.

A second ceremony, following traditional customs, is planned in their hometown in the coming time.

For Vy, holding the forest wedding first had a deeper reason - preserving the emotion of the moment when the groom sees his bride in her wedding dress for the very first time.

A memory shaped by freedom

By the end of the evening, the forest had become a space filled with laughter, music and quiet tears.

Guests wandered, danced and shared in the couple’s vows, not as spectators but as participants in a shared experience.

For Vy and Nhan, it was everything they had hoped for - a wedding not defined by tradition, but by emotion, memory and the freedom to tell their story in their own way.