Chapter 7 — Weddings Without Brides

Yesterday, he deleted the bride introduction that belonged to me at the bottom of the page. Today, he deleted the countdown to the marriage registration date. Behind every edit, there is a device code and clear confirmation time from Luc Tram Chu. I downloaded the file to my computer, then backed it up to two different hard drives. In the afternoon, I went to the company organizing wedding events. Phung Diem saw me and immediately closed the office door:

"Miss Tham, I was planning to contact you. Mr. Luc told me that you agreed to the two-wedding process, but today the wedding dress shop announced to temporarily suspend delivery. How do you two plan to arrange it?"

“Give me all the revision requests.”

She pulled out a stack of papers, which soon covered the table. The main flower color from the blue and white I chose has been changed to the champagne pink color that To Tinh likes. Hand-held wedding flowers from lily orchids changed to red roses. Guest welcome photos, vow cards, table number plates, return gift stickers, all have been changed.

“Are these things confirmed by Luc Tram Chu?”

"Mr. Luc said he is the groom and has the right to make adjustments."

“Who signed the contract?”

Phung Diem pursed his lips: "Sister."

“Who pays the money?”

“Mostly me.”

“So he has no right to replace her as the bride.”

I took a photo of each change request form. Phung Diem began to stand still:

"Miss Tham, we really thought you two had finished discussing it. Every time Mr. Luc said you were busy, he would take care of the details."

“Where is the complete schedule of the two ceremonies?”

Her movement of flipping through the file slowed down.

“The overall protocol is still with Mr. Luc. Tomorrow at the joint meeting, the final version will be signed.”

"Don't you have anything in your hand?"

"Suppliers only receive the portion of the work they are responsible for. Mr. Luc said that two weddings use the same decoration, the coordinator easily gets confused, so he will put it together at the last minute."

The reason sounds very reasonable. But as a long-time project manager, I understand what it means to separate information. When each person only sees a small piece of the puzzle that belongs to their responsibility, no one will realize who is missing in the overall picture. I picked up the guest list. There is only one list, 318 people.

“How are morning and afternoon guests divided?”

"Mr. Luc told relatives to attend the ceremony in the morning to fulfill their wishes. If anyone wants to stay in the afternoon, they can stay."

“What about meals?”

“Only prepare a party once.”

“What about changing the flower decoration?”

Phung Diem pointed to the price list: "Using the same set."

“How long does it take for the main stage to change its name?”

“Electronic screens take 10 minutes, stereoscopic braille takes at least an hour and a half.”

I'm looking for a request for braille. On it, only Luc Tram Chu and To Tinh were written. There's no my name. Phung Diem followed my gaze, his face pale.

“Probably… using electronic screens in the afternoon.”

“My wedding did not use electronic screens to display names.”

To avoid the feeling of cheap stereotypes, I drew the letterforms myself and asked the designer to attach the name to the backdrop. At that time, Luc Tram Chu also said that braille can be kept for a long time, and after the wedding, you can take it home as a souvenir. Now it's truly something you can take home. It's just that it doesn't have my name on it. Phung Diem quickly explained like:

"Tomorrow Mr. Luc will bring the general process. Don't worry, maybe there will be another arrangement in the afternoon."

“Send me the list of personnel participating in the closing meeting tomorrow.”

“Hotel, wedding dress, fresh flowers, makeup, livestream and our coordinator will all be present.”

“Okay.”

I put all the papers back in the folder. As I walked out the door, Phung Diem called me back:

"Miss Tham, are you really planning to cancel? According to the contract, if you cancel now, you will lose at least 68,000 yuan (about more than 230 million VND)."