Venetian Banquet Hall
This wedding at Venetian Banquet Hall was my longest of the year… and windiest. It was a grand total of 14 hrs. There was a traditional Chinese tea ceremony and western civil ceremony at this one location. When there are so many activities throughout the day, sticking to a timeline is critical. Unfortunately, morning bride prep did run over an hour late. So the couple’s outdoor portrait session at Richmond Green was cut drastically short. The first look, bridal party photos, and couple portraits condensed into 20min. But hey, its a wedding. Not everything goes according to plan. We capture as much as we can while still helping the couple stay on schedule. Especially when there are 200+ guests and a dog waiting for the couple’s arrival at the venue.
Chinese 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. And even more so when it comes to a fusion wedding like this. As a rule, the tea serves in order of hierarchy. So starting with grandparents. Then parents, aunties/uncles, elder siblings, and finally cousins. The tea set is often a gift. 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. For this wedding, the groom’s parents provided him with his grandfather’s bracelet. It was a deeply sentimental gift that brought him to tears.
Theron Henry of Powerpack Images captured video for this wedding.
