Brighton Convention Centre
Cindy and Jason’s wedding at the Brighton Convention Centre was just amazing. I knew it would be from the time we photographed their engagement session at High Park. I’ve come to know these two to be extremely photogenic as they interact so well together. What I learned from my experience with them, is that no matter how crazy things can get, they find peaceful solitude together. It’s an essential trait you need when you have a family this big. The venue and their team did a great job maneuvering around all the different elements of the day as well.
Door Games
Most photographers would call me crazy for taking on events like this. 14hr wedding with a Western Ceremony and Chinese Tea Ceremony. Still a separate bride and groom prep however these weddings include multiple costume changes. The day started out with door games. If you’ve never been part of a Chinese wedding, it is where the groom must prove his worth. He arrives to the bride’s home and performs a series of tests. With modern weddings, these tests apply to the groomsmen as well. The bride is often peaking out to see the commotion. However thanks to technology, she was able to see everything through Whatsapp on her iPad. Once these tasks are complete, the groom has clearance to retrieve his bride and escort her to the wedding.
Chinese Tea Ceremonies
In this case, they did a quick stopover to Scarborough Bluffs for their portrait session with the bridal party along the waterfront. After, we headed to Brighton Convention Centre for the actual tea ceremony. The tea ceremony begins for the groom’s family, followed by the bride’s family. It is an ancient ceremony to honour your elders. As always, these traditions differ from family to family. As a rule, they serve tea in order of hierarchy. So starting with grandparents. Then parents, aunties/uncles, elder siblings, and finally cousins. The tea set is often a family heirloom. If the bride has a dowry, they will include a tea set for the ceremony. The tea is usually infused with lotus seeds or even red dates to symbolize fertility. The bridal party will usually help with pouring the tea and cleaning cups during the ceremony.
Traditionally, the couple serves tea whilst kneeling down, but some modern families prefer to bow instead. Either way shows respect to your elders. Following the tea ceremony, gifts are given to the bride and groom. They can usually be red envelopes containing money. They can also consist of jewelry handed down from mother-in-law and female relatives to the bride. In this case, the tea ceremony was private and only included the key family members. They had a formal civil ceremony for their guests to attend afterward. As well as a huge reception for everyone to celebrate together.
The second shooter for this wedding was Michelle Paquot.
