Two officers of a fire fighting police department in north-central Vietnam have chosen to shoot their pre-wedding photo album, a common practice of local couples, under the theme of their job, which brought them together.

Senior lieutenant Phan Thi Ngoc Thao and Lieutenant Le Duc Tinh now work at the Fire Fighting Police Department of Quang Tri Province.

After having been in love for five years, the couple got married in July 2016, and now has year-old daughter named Yen An.

A unique photoshoot

Pre-wedding photo shoots usually depict a bride with perfectly done hair and a beautiful, flair wedding dress, while the groom is presented in an elegant and luxurious vest.

Thao and Tinh’s photos, however, are nothing like those common ones, as the couple boldly dressed up in firefighters’ uniforms and posed in front of fire trucks, both of which represent their profession, a major part of their romantic relationship.

The unique photos soon grasped attention of many people as the couple, both 28, shared them on social media.

General Le Van Tien, head of the fire department, remarked: “Tinh and Thao are the first two officers to get married in this department. Thao is a daughter of General Phan Ngoc Thang – the very first director of Quang Tri police department.”

Ten years ago, Thao decided she wanted to follow her father’s footsteps despite being a girl, so she enrolled in the University of Fire Fighting and Prevention in Hanoi, becoming one of the only six female students of the middle-college program that year.

 “I was in class B, and Tinh was in class C, but I used to dislike Tinh because every time he saw me he would tease me,” Thao recalled her first encounters with her now beloved husband.

“I didn’t like him so every time we had a gathering with others from our hometown, I rarely spoke to him.”

After graduation, they both went back to Quang Tri to work at the provincial fire department, with Thao becoming the first female officer there.

Working side by side made it easier for the couple to get to know one another.

“He seemed more mature. After a few times going out for coffee with friends, we took a liking in each other and started texting,” Thao talked of how their love story began.

“It turned out we had a lot in common and the more we talked the better we got along.

“A few months later we became a couple.”

Simple first love

There was not a romantic confession of love, with Tinh doing it through an ordinary text message, which did not leave much impression in Thao.

“It was such an ordinary text message that I can’t even remember what he said anymore,” Thao said.

Not wanting to reveal their relationship, the couple kept it in secret for almost a year before revealing it to others.

“I remember when we first started dating, the office had a party and he gave me sticky rice during that party.

“After that, he kept teasing me that it’s because of that dish of food that I agreed to get married to him,” Thao joked.

Tinh said they are both each other’s first love, and that he loved her because “she is good-natured and simple”.

 “I came from a family of farmers, and Thao from an affluent family, but she wasn’t snobbish,” he added.

After graduation, Tinh spent three years working for a central firefighting team, whose job is to set out fires and do rescuing missions including drowning, traffic accidents, and train accidents, among others.

This is a demanding, tiresome, and dangerous job that does not allow a lot of free time.

For every two working days, Tinh would have one day off.

“During that period we had a very limited amount of time spent together,” Thao said.

“Once we were going out when suddenly a fire broke out, so Tinh had to leave me to get back to his unit to extinguish the fire.

“Other times I kept calling with no answer.

“When he saw missed phone calls later in the day he got back to me to explain that his unit had to extinguish a fire.

“We both work in the same profession so it’s easier to understand each other’s profession, to talk about and sympathize with each other.”

After three years of being together, the couple decided to pursue higher studies so they both moved to Hanoi to enroll in a university.

During that time Thao spent a lot of time making handmade presents for Tinh while the lesser-romantic young man only gave her a wristwatch at a student price.

“This was the first time I was in a relationship so I didn’t know what to give her.

“Thao wasn’t wearing a watch so I gave her one so that she knows what time it is,” Tinh shyly explained.

Being in university, the couple did not have much time to spend together but for weekends, which were sometimes spent being on duty.

Between shifts and school, the couple did not have much time to see each other, go on dates or go out.

“We were in the same class so at least we could help one another with school work,” said the female firefighter recalling the harder times in their relationship.

“Our love, as well as our wedding, was very simple. I believe that the simpler it is the longer lasting it will be. We are happy and proud of our wedding photos to be known, and idea to be admired by many,” Tinh said.