Tessa Tran, CEO of jewelry and home brand Chan Luu, and Zach Schau, managing partner at Tenmark Holdings, met during “pre-Tinder days” on Facebook. “We had mutual friends, so Zach added me on Facebook in 2008 along with a friendly poke to get my attention,” she remembers. Five years later, she messaged him, optimistic that he’d still be interested. “What did I have to lose?” A week later, they went on their first date.
After five years together, he surprised her with a proposal on their anniversary, while she was prepping dinner at home. And once engaged, they started planning for their wedding—first ruminating over Santa Fe or Kauai as locations.
However, the island’s weather proved too unpredictable, and their New Mexico venue got pushed back to 2020, so they picked Valle de Guadalupe—another special place to the couple—for their September 1, 2019 wedding. To help plan everything, the couple hired Karla Ulbrich of Marquez Ulbrich Concierge.
Two nights before the ceremony, Tessa wore her aunt’s Yoji Yamamoto bustier that she wore at her own wedding paired with her aunt’s vintage Dries Van Noten skirt to a family-only dinner. The look also doubled as the bride’s “something old.”
The next night with all of their guests at the rehearsal dinner, Tessa chose a long lilac silk halter dress with ruffles by Azeeza, paired with orange Prada slides and an olive nylon Prada drawstring pouch. She also put on custom earrings with charms that she’d collected from all over the world attached to a silver frame made in Oaxaca.
For the wedding ceremony, Tessa originally considered dresses by The Row and Danielle Frankel at first, but then she went with something completely different. The bride fell in love with a simple slip dress by A La Robe, charmed by the back slit detail and one-shoulder strap. She paired the gown with an airy gauze veil from LOHO Bride, where she also found her dress. “Christy, the owner, is the absolute best,” Tessa says. “I had so much fun styling dresses with her.”
The jewelry company CEO kept her accessories minimal with keshi pearl Chan Luu earrings, of course, and a bouquet by Floreria La Libélula. And since her mother is a hair accessories designer, she made her daughter a pearl comb, which was attached to Tessa’s veil.
Bridesmaids complemented the bride well in a mix of dresses from Brock Collection, Chanel, Loewe, Ulla Johnson, and Rachel Come. And Tessa gifted each a pair of custom Chan Luu pearl earrings. “They each picked out a pair when them came to my room on the big day!” she exclaims.
Zach wore a linen COS suit that Tessa had purchased a week before saying, “I do.” “He is a jeans and tee guy, and we had a hard time finding a suit,” the bride explains. “I thought he would look cool in something more relaxed, plus the weather was going to be hot.”
Under a 100-plus-years-old oak tree, with the leaves creating a natural arc that symbolized their version of a chuppah, the two recited their personal vows. Tessa had penned hers that morning, and she felt “excited and surprisingly relaxed” throughout the service.
Right after the ceremony, Tessa changed into a Brock Collection linen bustier top and mermaid-style skirt. “I loved the detail of the raw edges; there were no clean finishes,” she says.
The reception took place at Fauna with dinner by Chef David Hussong. His menu is so seasonal that the couple didn’t pick out their menu ahead of time. “It was a little nerve-wracking but easier on the planning, I suppose!” Tessa exclaims. “We were not disappointed.”
As dinner was winding down, Zach performed a song for his bride. “He had been writing and practicing the song six months prior with his best bud, Sam, almost every day for an hour before I would get home from work,” Tessa reveals. “The lyrics and melody sent me to tears…I still hum it all the time.”
Afterward, the newlyweds cut their cake by David’s wife and Fauna’s pastry chef, Maribel Silva. Then, the two had their first dance to “Cool Cat” by Queen. And once the party was in full swing, tequila shots were ordered and guests danced on tables.
Right after the wedding, the new mister and missus took a mini-moon to Mexico City and Merida. Then over Christmas of 2019, they went to Amanoi in the south of Vietnam and spent two weeks traveling up the coast through Halong Bay, Da Nang, and Hanoi.
