During the tea ceremony, the bride and groom should each face the relative of their gender (there are no rules about which side the couple needs to be on). In addition to their blessings for the marriage, the relatives also prepared gifts for the bride and groom. If the parents and grandparents of both sides do not see it as a problem either, then I think there's no reason not to wear a white dress. It’s also an expression of gratitude from the couple’s part. Just serve one time tea and have them hand over both packets would be sufficient. An essential for every Chinese wedding, the Chinese tea ceremony is arguably one of the most important wedding traditions in the Chinese culture. There were some tearful moments between the bride and her new son-in-law as well as humorous good wishes for lots and lots of babies. Chinese people think it stands for a devoted married couple.

It's normally before the guests come. There are traditions, but a wedding is also a very personal event. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. The couple, their parents, and close family members such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles. All rights reserved.

Then lift the lid slightly to one side and drink. For most couples, the Chinese wedding tea ceremony (敬茶) is where they get to meet most or all of their respective family members. The most traditional way is to hold the saucer to move the cup close to your mouth. Note: when using red dates, they shouldn't be pealed or cut in slices. The earliest written record of tea ceremonies emerged during the Tang Dynasty over 1200 years ago. Sometimes the guests puts it directly on the tray. A tea tree cannot be transplanted; it only sprouts and grows from a seed. Typically, the groom’s sister, a female relative or someone from the bride’s bridal party will assist in the pouring and serving of the tea on the tray, as well as the rinsing or washing of the cups. We only can tell what is done traditionally, and I can see that you're already familiar with those practices.

So the wedding is very mixed cultures since the wedding ceremony and reception will be a mix of Chinese, Japanese and western styles. It's a symbol of purity, stability and fertility. And guess what! We have designed tours especially for tea lovers to have an in-depth tea culture experience in China. Gongfu tea ceremonies are about the slow and ritual like practice fo preparing traditional Chinese tea, while a wedding ceremony is about the tradition of celebration Chinese weddings, and honoring parents and relatives.

Privacy Policy. Wedding traditions are practices that originated from a long time ago and passed…, This ancient coming-of-age ceremony is one that you’ll want to ace for your wedding.

Immediately following the ceremony, the parents will usually offer a few wise words to the couple and give them lai see—red envelopes containing cash, a symbol of luck and good fortune.

Hong Kong-based Sharon Au established her eponymous wedding consultancy, providing professional dai kum jeh services, in 1993. Through this ceremony she is formally introduced, accepted and becomes part of the family. The tea ceremony for the groom's side was usually in the morning, and should be conducted after the couple were married and had settled down.

Traditionally, the tea ceremony for the groom's family is usually done in the morning, while the ceremony for the bride is always done in the afternoon when the bride and groom have completed the bride's home visit. Does anyone have any pointers to ready-made ones or a pdf I can buy? Others prepare it as traditional as possible and add storage jars, pitchers, filters, tea trays to the decor. It's hard to know the exact time when tea became a routine part of Chinese dowries. We’re an online destination for inspiration, creativity, DIY projects, stylish new products, party planning tips, and so much more.