A Once-in-a-Generation Wedding

Vikram Nagarajan’s vintage-style áo tắc paid homage to his father-in-law’s hometown, Hue, Vietnam. Quynh-Huong Van’s blue khăn đống featured in both of her Friday outfits. “I think for a lot of us growing up, sometimes we forgo the khăn đống because we want to fit in a little bit more,” Van says. “I think, in some ways, me wearing it was actually a point of just a little bit of resistance, rebellion, of saying, ‘This beauty standard is also beautiful.’” Photos: Collette Rochell Photography

Celebration, community and culture serve as this couple’s guiding lights.

Quynh-Huong Van and Vikram Nagarajan are self-professed introverts, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at their wedding photo gallery. “We surprised people by having such a big wedding,” Van says. “But in fact, if you actually know our values and how much we value being Vietnamese and Indian and our community, I think it actually makes a lot of sense.”

The Vu Quy—short for Lễ Vu Quy—sign welcomed guests to Quynh-Huong Van’s parents’ house for the tea ceremony.

Over the course of July 5 and 6, Van, originally from Woodbury, and Nagarajan, from Plymouth, hosted 300 guests for a once-in-a-generation event that reunited family and friends from around the world. It was a large undertaking but one Van says she was ultimately thankful for.

“I was more moved than I thought at the reception, realizing that everybody that I loved was in one place,” she says. “But also because we’re diasporic, a lot of our families haven’t been together in one place for 25, 30 years. It was more powerful than I thought.”

Quynh-Huong Van’s parents welcomed around 100 guests into their home for the tea ceremony, which was followed by a lively sangeet, a prewedding celebration with singing and dancing.

The celebrations kicked off with a Vietnamese tea ceremony—Lễ Vu Quy—at Van’s parents’ house in Woodbury. This more intimate affair was layered with meaning. Van’s colorful áo nhật bình is a garment style that dates back to the royal court of the Nguyễn dynasty. “My dad is from Hue, Vietnam, where the palace was,” Van says. “So in some ways, it was actually a throwback to my dad’s hometown.”

Vikram Nagarajan says the lion dancers were one of his favorite performances at the sangeet.

After the tea ceremony, the couple was joined by an extended group of family and friends in the front yard for a lively sangeet that broadened the traditional dance aspect to include talents of all stripes, including martial arts and singing. Nagarajan surprised Van by singing Quỳnh Hương, which he had learned in secret with help from her mom. “It’s a popular Vietnamese song,” Nagarajan says. “And he did it all in Vietnamese, so that was very awesome,” Van says.

Quynh-Huong Van and Vikram Nagarajan welcomed 300 guests to their Hindu wedding ceremony at Minneapolis Event Centers on July 6, 2025. Van’s wedding ring incorporates blue zircon, “… the oldest mineral on Earth and is naturally found in Vietnam and India,” Van says. Vikram Nagarajan’s wedding band is in matching rose gold.

The evening concluded in the Vans’ backyard with the couple and their closest friends practicing their group dance for the following day. “They really showed up,” Nagarajan says. “It took a lot of planning and a lot of choreography and a lot of practice.” Practice that had, before that night, been entirely virtual.

Quynh-Huong Van’s red-orange saree was chosen by her mother-in-law, and Vikram Nagarajan’s maternal aunts in India sent it to her as a gift.

The following day, the couple hosted their Hindu wedding ceremony and reception at Minneapolis Event Centers. “It was actually kind of nice having a long, elaborate ceremony,” Van says. “As introverts, you don’t have to write your own intimate vows and say them out loud in front of people. You get to fold yourself into the rituals, and I found that really nice.”

Quynh-Huong Van and Vikram Nagarajan’s reception was catered by India Palace and Peking Garden with desserts by Elite Catering.

One of the couple’s favorite parts was stealing away for a moment at the reception for couple’s photos and reflection. “I think we wanted a smaller wedding and then expanded it for our families,” Van says. “I realized that it was the right call, and I was really happy to offer the once-in-a-generation event for the family.”

At the reception, the seafoam green shade of Vikram Nagarajan’s kurta and Quynh-Huong Van’s palazzo pant set and draped dupatta was coordinated to match Van’s jade necklace, which originally belonged to her grandmother. “When my mom was a refugee, and she came from Vietnam and escaped, the only thing that she brought with her was her mother’s necklace,” Van says. “I just knew that I really wanted my reception outfit to [include] that necklace.”

Vendors

• Catering: India Palace, indiapalacemn.com; Peking Garden, pekinggardenmn.com
• Desserts: Elite Catering, elitecateringandevents.com
• Event Planning, Mehndi and Rentals: Kahani Events & Design, kahanievents.com
• Florals: V.Florals, vflorals.com
• Hair and Makeup: makeupwithcna, makeupwithcna.com
• Jewelry: Brilliant Earth, brilliantearth.com
• Music: A-Quil, a-quil.com
• Photography: Colette Rochelle Photography, colette-rochelle.com
• Printing: Minted, minted.com
• Venue: Minneapolis Event Centers, eventsbyentourage.com
• Wedding Wear: Love Me Knots Bridal, Instagram: @lovemeknots_bridal; Esha Koul, eshakoul.in; Sari Palace, thesaripalace.com