For the groomsmen, my mom found their gold ao dais at the Ben Thanh market in Vietnam. Jeff’s groom ao dai was very modern and had beautiful gold embroidery – doesn’t he look like a prince?! My mom picked them up while she was in Vietnam but it looks like they ship to the US as well!įor our wedding party, we took measurements of the bridesmaids and had their pink ao dais custom made in Vietnam. I loved my bridal ao dai with the intricate beading and long, delicate train. And I mean everyone! I have cousins in Vietnam and they showed me lots of great options for bridal and groom ao dais. Prior to our wedding, my mom went to Vietnam and got everyone ao dais for our wedding. Of course it’s not a Vietnamese celebration without some Henny shots! We had an array of yummy Vietnamese food like banh mi, goi, egg rolls, and banh hoi. And since Jeff is Korean and his parents live in a different state, my parents hosted the luncheon. The wedding reception is held later in the evening.įor us, it wouldn’t have logistically made sense to have the Vietnamese tea ceremony the morning of our American wedding so we celebrated it the day before. Close family and friends attend the ceremony and then everyone heads back to the groom’s parents house to enjoy lunch together. Traditionally, the Vietnamese tea ceremony is held early on the day of the wedding. The ceremony concluded with family and friends lining up to gift us money and provide marriage advice while we served them tea. After serving tea, our parents showered us with jewelry, money, and advice for a long lasting marriage. This was a very emotional part as we cried and thanked our parents for everything they’ve done for us, especially for immigrating to the US with nothing and working so hard to give us a better life. Jeff and I proceeded with first bowing to honor our ancestors, and then bowing and serving tea to our parents. All of the gifts were revealed and our moms lit dragon candles to symbolize the union of our two families. Once everyone was inside our house, my dad escorted me downstairs to finally see my handsome groom! Jeff brought me this beautiful bouquet of flowers, which was made by my brother’s girlfriend. I was in my parents’ room upstairs while this was all happening and definitely took a peek to see what was going on outside! After formal introductions of both sides, the bride’s family accepts the gifts and invites the groom’s family into their home to proceed with the wedding tea ceremony. The groom’s entourage lines up in front of the bride’s house where they’re greeted by the bride’s family and bridesmaids while the bride waits in a room. These gifts, consisting of roasted pig, wine, tea, sticky rice, and desserts, symbolize prosperity and wealth that the groom can bring to the bride’s family. The ceremony itself is quick (about 30 minutes) and I’ll walk you through what happens during each phase.įirst, the groom’s entourage (including his family and groomsmen) comes to the bride’s house bringing flowers and mam qua, which are gifts carried in red tin trays and covered with traditional red cloth. The purpose of a Vietnamese wedding tea ceremony is for the groom to ask the bride’s family for her hand in marriage and celebrate the union of the two families while honoring our parents, family, and ancestors. I’m sharing everything about our Vietnamese wedding tea ceremony and our ao dais! But my mom said it would mean a lot to her so we said why not? More reason to party and celebrate our marriage, right?! I’m so glad we agreed to it cause now we have these wonderful memories to cherish and look back on. When we were planning our wedding, we totally didn’t think about having a traditional Vietnamese wedding tea ceremony.
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