Beautiful Details

After helping with the final details of a modern Chinese wedding tea ceremony, I was inspired to become more familiar with the custom.

The Color of Weddings
Traditionally, the central color of Chinese weddings is red.

Prominent in all of the details, the color is said to symbolize love, joy and prosperity.

Regrettably, we are currently out of stock on the lovely Teavana red tulip handled cherry wood tray.



The bride was drawn to the functional and chic Teavana black lacquer round serving tray.



The beautiful tray made the red in the details stand out more vividly.


The Ceremony
In a Chinese wedding, the serving of tea is a symbolic gesture. The wedding couple is said to serve the parents of both sides of the marriage while kneeling. This represents the request for permission to wed. Another meaning can be that the ceremony symbolizes a formal introduction to the family.

There are unique family customs for the tea ceremony. The sister of the groom is to assist in the preparation and serving of the tea. Proper addressing of the family members is used. The specific details of how and when the tea is served is a reflection of the family tradition.

Even the very date of the wedding can be chosen based on Astrological dates.

The Teapot
The family of the bride purchases the tea set that becomes part of her dowry.
This beautiful hand crafted Yixing tea pot was chosen for the ceremony.


This Teavana pewter dragon pot has such strong, beautiful details to add to the ceremony.

The Tea
A traditional tea for Chinese weddings is said to have lotus seeds and red dates, symbolically suggesting that the couple will soon bear children.

The bride chose a lovely celebratory Teavana tea for her tea ceremony.


'To Life' is an exquisite white tea blend of Silver Needle white, Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls green, and Rooibos Tropica. Tradition is honored by the classic Chinese emperor white tea, unfolded by the relaxing Chinese jasmine pearls, and celebrated by the subtle sweet notes of the vitamin rich South African red bush tea.

This blend extends a warm toast 'To the Life' of this marriage.

The Chinese honor the beauty of the details that tie together a traditional ceremony. The harmony between modern times and traditions is beautiful.

Cheers.

[
Photos seen here are from the official Teavana website: www.Teavana.com Browse here to learn more and for great shopping!

References used:
http://www.chinese-wedding-guide.com/tea-ceremony.html
http://www.chinabridal.com/etiquette/tea.htm
http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/asian_traditions/chinese_traditions.html
]