Wedding Recap: Chinese Tea Ceremony

Many aspects of our wedding were pretty non-traditional, however, we decided to incorporate a traditional Chinese tea ceremony in our weekend. Not only as a way for us to pay our respects to Jackson's parents, but also to incorporate a bit of Jackson's heritage. Only one catch, we had no idea what the tea ceremony was all about. Lovely Elsa to the rescue! She was kind enough to bring a Chinese tea set & tea leaves all the way from Chicago. She also acted as officiant (aka Rockstar) of the simple, sweet & very special ceremony.

We knelt down on some cushions and I started off by presenting tea to Sylvia, Jackson's mother.Stanley, Jackson's brother in the middle of the pic, has a big smile on his face. It was probably because I made an attempt at speaking Catonese saying, "Drink up, Mother." Sylvia took a sip of the tea and then handed me a red envelope (traditional Chinese wedding gift of money) and jewelry she received at her wedding.
Then I presented the tea to Jackson's father, again saying "Drink up, Father." Cantonese and me were good by then. Jackson then presented his mother with the tea, and followed with his father. His father handed him another red envelope.
The best part of this ceremony was when at the end, Jackson's mom jumped up and said "Welcome to the family!" It was so sweet and touching, and also such a happy moment. Following lots of hugs, Sylvia put the jewerly on me.

The jewelry is 24K Gold and heavy. There are two large bracelets and one necklace with a large medallion. All pieces were designed with a Dragon and a Phoenix - the Dragon being the strong male symbol, while the Phoenix symbolizes the soft female side. Together, they represent a marriage blessed with a great deal of success and prosperity as well as lots of children, the beginning of a new dynasty!

In the end, our traditional Chinese tea ceremony wasn't all that traditional, as we didn't end up following all the 'rules'. But we celebrated what was important to us - Family. And with that I give you, Family Tao.