Outdoor Ceremony

This is an outdoor ceremony. Please check weather forecasts since St. Louis weather can be unpredictable. Wedding guests have free all-day access to the Botanical Gardens. You may arrive anytime after the Gardens open, and can stay to enjoy the Gardens after the ceremony concludes.

Go HERE for the weather.

Wedding Registry

Hi! If you are looking for the blogpost about our wedding registry...

We do not have a wedding registry.  We truly have everything that we need to start our new life together -- that is, we have everything except space to store all the materials in our possession. We kindly ask that friends and family consider supporting us through our GoFundMe campaign. Please click HERE for more details.

xoxo,
frank and hoang-anh

GoFundMe: Diez-Tran Wedding

Hi, everyone!

We are getting married in September and are excited to have family and friends join us on our special day. In planning this special celebration, we have tried to focus on what is most meaningful and important to us and our families, and wedding presents are not the top of our priority list -- in fact, presents are not on any of our lists.

We have all we need to keep us nourished, warm, and safe. We cherish the TIME with our loved ones, not the material things that you would typically find on a wedding registry.

Therefore, we decided not to create a gift registry, since we have accumulated far too much stuff and would not have space to accommodate more things.

We do, however, ask for your support to offset the costs of the wedding ceremony and the reception, as we celebrate our wedding at the Japanese Garden, and break bread together with our familial tribes (the Diez/Bush Clan and the Tran Clan) with a meal at Kemoll's (overlooking the St. Louis arch!).

Please visit our site at: https://www.gofundme.com/dieztranwedding

GoFundMe requires a minimum of $5 for every donation, but please know that any amount will be significant to us, and will be gratefully received. We could never match the generosity that our loved ones have already poured out for us thus far, and we remain deeply grateful for the encouragement and support we continue to receive from everyone near and far.

We look forward to seeing our families and friends in September on this special day. Thank you so much for your love and support!

xoxo
Frank and Hoang-Anh

P.S. If you have questions about how GoFundMe works, click HERE. 

Reception Venue: Kemoll's Italian Restaurant

After researching and looking at 16 different venue options, we've finally selected the venue for our wedding reception: Kemoll's Italian Restaurant.

Kemoll's is an Italian restaurant nestled in the heart of downtown Saint Louis.

Our reception will be on the 40th floor of One Metropolitan Square. We chose to have cocktails at 6:00pm so that we can see the St. Louis arch during dusk. Seated dinner will be at 7:00pm, which will allow us to see the night lights and the arch in the night sky.

Address:
Kemoll's Italian Restaurant
One Metropolitan Square
211 North Broadway
40th & 42nd Floors
Saint Louis, MO 63102

Telephone:
314.421.0555

Email:
info@kemolls.com

Parking:
Complimentary parking in the building for dinner guests. The entrance is on Pine. After turning on to Pine make an immediate right into Met Square parking garage under the “Reserved" awning. Follow the signs for Kemoll's parking. Take elevators to the lobby and stay to the right hand side of the building. Take the elevators marked 29-40 to Kemoll’s Italian Restaurant.

For driving directions to Kemoll's, click HERE to go to the Contact page for Kemoll's website, and download the Word document with specific details.

Ceremony Site: Japanese Garden in the Missouri Botanical Gardens

These two photos were taken at the Japanese Garden of the Missouri Botanical Gardens this past Monday. For March, this is incredibly beautiful weather, with blue skies and white blossoms.

This will be the location of our wedding ceremony in September, and we hope it will be beautiful in a different sort of way.

Address:
Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 577-5100

Click HERE to visit the Gardens website.

Click HERE to get maps of the Gardens.

Click HERE for directions to the Gardens. Please note there may be construction going on, so check the website as you prepare your travel plans.

Black and Ivory with Gold Accents

We've finally decided our colors: black and ivory with gold accents.

Black because it makes everyone look slimmer and it is an easy color to find in our closets as well as in all the stores. Ivory because we want something classy, and neutral, and which would balance out the deep black. And gold because we need some shine, some gloss, to highlight the mood and bring some brightness and joy to what often can seem like a too formal, serious affair.

Despite what traditions say, we believe it is absolutely ok to be decked out in all black; if you prefer the satin-y ivory look -- that is fine, too. If you choose to wear all gold -- make sure you're in my photos so that your bling will distract from my (inevitable) shiny (oily) nose.

Most importantly: wear whatever makes you happy, and comfortable. The weather is unpredictable; it might be rainy or too hot and humid. Keep in mind that you'll want to look happy -- uncomfortable clothes and shoes will make you look unhappy. (Shoes that hurt give you that >pinched< look.)

Ladies, footwear might be an issue since we'll be outdoors and your high heels might sink into the grass at Powell Gardens.

It would be wise to have an umbrella nearby - for sun or for rain.

Rain or shine, we'll be at the Japanese Garden!

xoxo
frank and hat

Location, Location, Location

Breaking News:

The Diez-Tran wedding ceremony will be held at the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, MO.

This will be an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Japanese lake and footbridge.

In case of inclement weather, we have a back-up site: the Shoenberg Theatre.

However, we both would prefer not to be married in a constructed theatre building, so we encourage everyone to watch the weather forecasts and bring umbrellas.

A little rain won't hurt and might actually help cool us off!

Guests attending the wedding can stay after our ceremony to enjoy the Botanical Gardens free of charge. No parking fees; no entrance fees. You'll just need to show that you're invited to the Diez-Tran wedding.

We also will get unlimited photo-taking at all Garden sites. So, charge up your cameras and i-devices! Practice your pretty smiles!

A few notes to keep in mind:

1. No rice, flower petals, birdseed, confetti, paper or balloons may be thrown or distributed. However, you may shower us with thanks for selecting such a magnificent venue in St. Louis and not in Kansas City.

2. We'll be outdoors, so the chairs will not be as comfortable as the cushioned pews in a church setting. And ladies, your spiky heels might go right through the grass; select your footwear carefully

3. Weather in St. Louis is finicky. Watch the weather forecasts and either bring a fan to cool off or an umbrella to stay dry!

No matter the weather and no matter the setting, we are happy to have this special day under the sun to celebrate among family and friends.

xoxo,
frankie and hat

(These photo images below were not taken by us, but if/when we get a chance to get photos taken there, we'll update.)