As the founder of The F Lab—one of Vietnam’s top wedding planning companies—Giang Bui knew exactly what she wanted when it came to designing her own nuptials. “I don’t want just a pretty wedding,” she shares. “I want a wedding that is mine and mine only.” Her celebration was just that. A cliff overlooking a stunning mountain range in Vietnam was covered in a red carpet, while surrealist oversize horse sculptures—a nod to the couple’s shared lunar birth year—served as a framing altar for their vows. And given the boldness of the ceremony design, Giang made sure her fashion would match up.
“I have loved fashion for as long as I can remember—so as soon as I got engaged, I almost instantly started my mood board, looking for inspiration for the dresses,” says Giang, who worked at Valentino before discovering her passion for weddings. “One of my wardrobe signatures is statement tops with oversize, structured sleeves. When Quynh Anh, creative director at Lecia Bridal, asked me to describe my ideal bridal vision in three words, my answer was, ‘I want to be 100% myself: over the top, powerful, and singular.’”
“Quynh Anh drafted three options for the first round. We combined details of all of them to create my final look,” explains Giang. “She and her team later went on fabric sourcing and after three rounds of fitting, I’ve got my dream look.”
The resulting gown was a beautiful long ivory sheath with a defined waist, a low back, and large sleeves that led to a cape-like train adorned with 3D-cut flowers. “I love flowers, and together with Quynh Anh, we drew inspiration from two of our mutual fashion idols, Cong Tri—a legendary Vietnamese designer—and Valentino spring 2025, to create this special look,” says Giang.
The planner notes that being able to work with a local designer and friend meant a huge deal for her. “As much as I love fashion, I believe there are more talents in the Eastern developing markets including Vietnam that need to be discovered,” she says. “I felt extremely proud being able to wear a Vietnamese designer’s creation on my big day.”
While the wedding planner loves florals, she decided to design her entire celebration without any real petals. So as an alternative to a bouquet and boutonniere, the couple instead donned vibrant accessories out of fabric. “I was in love with the idea of holding five pomegranates in place of flowers. In Eastern Asian culture, the fruit itself symbolizes prosperity, and the number five brings positivity and fortune,” shares Giang. “I was very lucky to have talented artisan friends in the industry, Cat Hoa Moments, who designed and handcrafted the most unique bouquet and boutonniere for us.”
For her other accessories, the bride leaned into the tradition of wearing something old, borrowed, and blue. “I have collected vintage shoes over the years, and one of my absolute gems was a pair of Christian Lacroix sandals with statement pearls, a match made in heaven with my ivory dress and the mirror balloons decoration,” says Giang. “And what better to have as my ‘something old’ than a heritage pair of shoes from a legendary fashion house that now no longer exists?” For her “something blue,” a former bride-turned-friend gave her matching pearl earrings with blue accents to wear.
While Bui wore white for the ceremony, she leaned into the wedding color palette and wore a beautiful red vintage dress designed by John Galliano for Christian Dior in 2000. “Growing up as a ’90s kid, two of my biggest fashion idols are Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. I particularly love seeing the women in all of John’s creations, both feminine and fierce. I believe we all have both sides in ourselves,” says Giang. “I had tried one of his designs for Dior in a vintage shop in London years ago and always regretted not buying it and never forgot how amazingly sexy it made me feel back then. I made it a mission to find one of his looks for my wedding and I’m over the moon that my dream has come true.”
The perfect dress was actually found by a friend. “I had previously told her that one of my biggest wishes was to wear Galliano at my wedding, so I was overjoyed to hear that she scored the perfect dress for me in New York City which she had shipped back to Vietnam just a month before the wedding,” she says. “I was debating another red vintage dress by McQueen—more structured and more volume. However, as soon as my friend sent me the Dior one by Galliano, I was won over instantly. It was love at first sight for me. Also, since my ceremony dress was quite structured, it was perfect to opt for a more graceful look.”
To get that extra volume she desired, Giang turned to Vietnamese designer Le Lam. “As soon as I found the dress, I contacted him to ask for a cape, perfectly complementing the dress for my re-entrance look,” she explains. “I also found vintage red embroidered Rene Caovilla slingbacks and custom-designed ruby earrings to match with my red look.”
“I always believe that fashion is a language to express yourself. As weddings are one of if not the most important days of our lives, it is extremely important to feel powerful, pretty, sexy, feminine, confident, and in love,” says Giang. “And, that was exactly how I felt. I was extremely privileged to have found every perfect little detail for all of my outfits.”
