Tường Vi & Hải Đăng

Instead of a reception of a few hours, Tuong Vi and Hai Dang moved 60 relatives into 12 villas across two days — grandparents in a single-storey villa near the aisle, young families in villas with pools for the children.

The ancestral rite took place on Saturday morning in the living room of the largest villa, the altar set formally with a lacquered board and the five-fruit tray; the afternoon was a poolside barbecue, the evening a small fire in the garden.

On Sunday the whole family had a late breakfast together before leaving the resort. "More like a small Tet than a wedding" — the bride's mother's words, and exactly what the couple had wanted.