The Vietnamese Wedding experience

So, today is my cousin’s wedding and so I decided to dedicate this blog about what a typical Vietnamese wedding is like over here in Perth. From my memory, the only weeding that I’ve been to and have witnessed the whole ceremony was my older sister’s wedding about 8 years ago. So, the whole day consisted of the tea ceremony, the wedding at the church and the reception. The tea ceremony begins with my brother-in-law. His family all meets up and drives themselves to my sister’s house (aka my place). They park their car and he gets 12 guys, who he chosen before the day started, to carry the gifts. The gift consisted of 2 people carrying each 1 cooked chicken, 1 basket of fruits, 1 containers of sweet red rice, 1 bottle of alcohol (usually wine) and 1 pig that has been roasted which 4 people had to carry. Once they were lined up as partners and the 4 with the roasted pig, behind the line of 8 guys, my brother-in-law lead the crowd of people (his family) towards our place. Once he was there, the guys who were carrying the gifts lined up in a single file facing the single file of girls wearing the traditional Vietnamese costume, the Ao Dai. Both my parents were also outside along with our family and friends, whilst my older sister was inside, all dressed up in her room waiting for her queue to enter. My brother-in-law greeted both my parents and introduced them to his parents. He showed my parents what he had brought to ask for my sister’s hand in marriage. Both my parents agreed and shook his hands and his parents and everyone clapped. The guys carrying the gift stepped forward and gave the gifts to the girl who was in front of them. Then everyone made their way into the house, while the girls lined up from the back of the entering crowd. They waited outside the door entrance for their queue to place the gifts on the altar; in the middle of the living room. Once everyone was in, including my brother-in-law’s family who stood on the right hand side of him, each girl entered and placed each gift on the altar. There was a spoke person, who was asked to conduct this ceremony. After all the gifts were placed, my mother went to fetch my older sister. My brother-in-law gave her flowers and they both smiled. Then the tea ceremony began. First off was my brother-in-law family. His parents went off first, then his god parent, brothers and/or sisters and then his uncle and/or aunty. Then came my sister’s side of the family. During the ceremony, you give the gift to the couple and they invite you to drink tea with them, which was just jasmine tea/ green tea/ Chinese tea. The gifts that people tend to give are; gold jewellery and money, just to wish them luck. After that, there was quick pray and then off to the wedding mass. border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517385155223335170" /> Serving the tea The wedding mass is the typical mass, with a priest conducting the while ceremony. After that were the wedding pictures and lunch. The whole day concluded with a wedding reception in a Chinese seafood restaurant that was close to the bell tower. During the reception, the bride and groom visit each table (generally consisting of 10 people) and give their thanks for coming to their wedding. This is generally the chance for those who didn’t give their gift at the tea ceremony or didn’t attend the tea ceremony to give their gift. The gift that most people give during this time is money. After visiting every table, was the cutting of the cake and the end of a long and memorable day.