Ho Chi Minh City mass wedding helps workers fulfill wedding dreams

Couples cycle, take metro to mass wedding reception

The annual mass wedding program was first held in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 for young workers and laborers facing financial difficulties in the city and neighboring provinces.

Early in the morning, the couples set off by bicycle from the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union to President Ho Chi Minh Monument Park on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street. There, they paid floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh and received their marriage certificates.

After the ceremony, all the couples boarded Metro Line No. 1, which runs between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien, and traveled to Suoi Tien Bus Station. They then continued by road to their wedding reception venue at WTC Expo in the former Binh Duong area.

Ca Van Ngoc and his wife, Nguyen Thi Ha, who are from Thanh Hoa Province in north-central Vietnam, beamed as they held hands aboard the train.

Ha said she was deeply moved that the program had arranged for the couples to cycle around central Ho Chi Minh City.

“Traveling by metro was a really exciting experience. We feel so happy and grateful, and would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizers for giving our family such a meaningful memory,” she said with a smile.

Explaining the idea behind the journey, Thai Thi Hoai Son, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Supporting Young Workers and deputy head of the wedding organizing committee, said the organizers wanted to combine different forms of public transport to promote the city's cultural appeal.

The journey also gave the couples a chance to enjoy the city's streets while encouraging greater awareness of environmental protection, she said.

“We believe the combination of bicycles and the metro has given the couples a memorable experience on what is one of the happiest days of their lives,” Son said.

This year's mass wedding was the first to be organized in Ho Chi Minh City since its merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Dream room offers fresh start

Tears were shed as the stories of workers who had overcome hardship were shared at the ceremony. One particularly moving story was that of Tran Vu Khoa and Nguyen Thi Cam Tu, who live in An Lac Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

The couple had been together for three years and already had a child, but Khoa's unstable income as a construction worker had repeatedly forced them to put off their dream of having a wedding ceremony.

Their situation worsened on October 5, when an electrical short circuit in an adjacent room sparked a fire that destroyed their rented room and all their savings.

Moved by their circumstances, the wedding organizers and accommodation facility owners gave the couple with a room during the ceremony to help them start over.

Khoa said he had been too excited to sleep the night before, eagerly waiting for morning to arrive.

“Our family is so happy to finally stand together at the wedding altar. We have also received a ‘Dream Room’ from the sponsors. This will give us great motivation to work hard and ensure our child receives a proper education,” he said.

Across 16 editions, Ho Chi Minh City's mass wedding program has helped 1,206 couples tie the knot.

Beyond the wedding ceremony, the organizers will continue the “Journey of Happiness” program in November at Suoi Tien, Vung Tau and Con Dao.

The initiative will provide guidance on maintaining happy family relationships and scholarships for workers' children, reaffirming the city's tradition of compassion and solidarity.