We warmly invite our guests to our ceremony. It will primarily feature a Chinese tea ceremony, along with elements of a Western ceremony.
What is a Chinese Tea Ceremony?
For many Chinese families, the tea ceremony is the most important part of a couple’s wedding. The couple will kneel before their seated elders to give them tea. This is to express respect and appreciation for the support they have provided the couple. “Elders” generally includes parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and sometimes cousins. After the couple offers the elders tea, the elders will give the couple a hong bao, or a red envelope with a cash gift. They will also give words of wisdom and, on occasion, gold jewelry.
What Will it Look Like?
Tea ceremonies, especially westernized ones, all have an individualized look to them. However, certain elements remain the same. Every tea ceremony, for example, has a portion where the couple gives tea to elders. Below is a video of a tea ceremony with a multicultural couple. Simply watching a portion of it will give you an idea.
For our tea ceremony, our family members will be paired up, and we will present tea to them at the same time. Because we are so fortunate to have such large, loving families, the ceremony will take a bit of time.
Timing
We anticipate that the ceremony will take an hour to an hour and half. Therefore, we encourage you to feel free to watch any portion you would like and take breaks to enjoy other activities during the ceremony. You also are more than welcome to arrive after the ceremony for the reception.