The wedding (part 1, the tea ceremony)

In keeping with Chinese Tradition, my lovely sister in-law, Suong (we call her "B"), and her now husband Rob (who is Filipino) had a Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony on the morning of their wedding.

B and most of the bridesmaids waited upstairs in her parents bedroom for the groom to arrive and the ceremony to begin. She made her beautiful red dress/outfit herself (among many other crafty things she did for the wedding).
Please note the purple bed set on the bed behind the girls. This was given to Dao and I for our wedding. It is meant to bring good luck for us in making babies. As you all know it most definitely worked for us! Watch out B and Rob!


Haley was such a lucky girl! She got to spend the night before the wedding with the bride-to-be, and her other Goo-Goo's (Aunties). B made all of my girls jewelry which included necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Haley's are all fresh water pearls, and the younger girls have crystals.

She had her hair professionally done, and Goo-Goo Xuan did her make-up!

Mom and Dad are getting ready for the ancestral offering and prayer. An entire pig, fruit, and candy are offered to the ancestors. Incense burn, and then...


the couple does a prayer ceremony. Nothing is ever explained to us, but I think they pray three times, once to the ancestors, once to their parents, and once to each other. Dao and I also did this for our wedding day.

Now they serve the tea, starting with their parents.

After they serve the tea, they get red envelopes, or jewelry. B got a beautiful white gold diamond necklace and earring set. This is considered as part of her dowry.

Rob's parents and family were super sweet. They not only came to the ceremony, they also participated.

Dao and I loved being on the other side of this. It's a lot less stressful!

After all the "old" people are served tea, the couple sits down and the children (anyone younger than them and unmarried) serve them tea. The couple then gives them red envelopes. My kids ♥ red envelopes and discovered early on that they contain $$ inside. :)

After the ceremony, everyone grubbed on tons of yummy food and got ready to head to the church wedding.

Part 2 coming soon...