Nguyen Xuan Hong, head of Thien Duc Village, said the People’s Council of Trung Chinh Commune last year adopted a resolution with a clause that stated all residents of the commune’s 18 villages had to economize wedding ceremonies.

According to the resolution, local brides are not allowed to wear western gowns but instead should dress in traditional ao dai to save money.

Grooms, meanwhile, are encouraged to wear tuxedos.

To make sure that the ban on gowns was adhered to, the People’s Committee asks each couple to sign a contract – backed by a deposit of VND500,000 (US$30) – promising that the bride would not wear a western gown at the wedding ceremony.

This procedure is required prior to granting wedding licenses, and the deposit would be confiscated if the couple were to break the contract.

Hong said his daughter wanted to be dressed in a western gown on her wedding day at the end of last year, but as the village head’s daughter she couldn’t break the rule.

Huu, the owner of a bridal shop in the commune, said the ban has had very little effect on his business because most couples rent both ao dai and western gowns for the brides.

Immediately after the wedding procession leaves the commune area, the brides would change from the ao dai into wedding gowns, Huu explained.

The children of local government officials had no choice but to follow the resolution and wear ao dai.

However, these couples also come to bridal shops to rent western dresses for keepsake photos, Huu said.

The stylized ao dai in Huu’s shop rent for the same prices as western gowns, ranging from VND350,000 to VND500,000 ($21-30).

The shop owner recalled a catastrophic wedding in the commune’s Lai Dong Village when he served as a photographer.

The relatives of the bride, who came from neighboring Hai Duong Province, were very angry to learn that she was prohibited to wear a gown and they lambasted the local administration for imposing such an outmoded rule.

“Every time I think about this wedding, I still feel really ashamed,” Huu said.

Ba Dinh Cau, deputy chairman of the commune People’s Committee, admitted that the ban on western wedding dresses met serious opposition from local residents, especially young people, although no violations have occurred yet.

He said the agenda for the next committee meeting includes discussing a revocation of the ban and the required wedding deposit

Cau and other officials on the committee also said they didn’t know how much it cost to rent an ao dai or a western gown.

Bac Ninh Province, located east of Hanoi, is famous for its traditional quan ho music (folk duets) and Dong Ho painting (woodblock prints).

Source: Lao Dong