"Modern" Tea Ceremony - NEED HELP!

Why don't you do it before your ceremony in the traditional dress? Like morning of, maybe? You may be too rushed during cocktail hour especially with trying to get all the wedding photos done as well.

We had planned to do ours after the rehearsal the night before. So rehearsal, tea ceremony, dinner. Not wearing anything traditional. Plus our family and closest friends will be there, so it works out well.

We're likely going to do the tea ceremony before everything. Part of it will be at FH's family and the rest will be at the restaurant, before everything begins. Keep in mind, someone may come late so give yourself plenty of time.

I am also having trouble deciding on the dress as well. It seems most wear the traditional red dress towards the end of the day. I have seen some wear the white dress for tea ceremony as well. It's really up to you.

Having tea ceremony day of wedding seems like a lot considering all the other things going on that day.

Most of my couples who have done this have had it before the western ceremony.

You could have the tea ceremony the day before your wedding. If your relatives are willing they could stay wherever you're planning on getting ready so you aren't hopping between houses to serve tea. I would consider the morning of your wedding though. It would be nice to have your photographer there

I really appreciate everyone's comments. However the reason we are forgoing the morning of, the day before or the day after is because my FH's entire family does not live in the states at all except for his dad. It's too way off balance to do a traditional Viet tea ceremony when I have 50+ family members. That's why we're opting to do it as part of our wedding, so it'll make his dad more comfortable.

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Tiffany how did the ceremony go, if you've done it, or how are you planning on doing it?

I'm in the same boat with being out of state and lots of people traveling.

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While I wanted to do a non-traditional tea ceremony to honor my grandparents, there just wasn't enough time to do that and a receiving line during my 45 minute cocktail hour so we actually ended up hosting a traditional tea ceremony at my parents' house the afternoon of our wedding. The ceremony itself took no longer than half an hour and we spent another half hour taking family photos in our traditional outfits.

If you have more time to spare than I did, I don't think there's anything wrong doing the tea exchange during your cocktail hour. My friend actually did just that but she had about 1.5 hours to spare between her "I do" ceremony and her reception. Another option, if your vendor allows the time, is to host it before you exchange your vows. Hope that helps and best of luck!! It's not easy being a modern bride while trying to appease the traditions and values your parents except.

My future sister in law got married and we had a very smooth tea ceremony. While she changed, we got the hot water from the venue and brewed tea. Then we poured out the appropriate amount in red disposable cups that had the double happiness symbol on them. I took a tray with four cups at a time to her and her husband. He served her family and she served his. Just one cup per person instead of two. I put two cups at a time on her small tray and then took back the red envelopes and placed them in a secure bag. Everyone was seated in a semicircle and we just moved along from eldee to elder. The whole thing took maybe 15 minutes.

If you need more of a description feel free to let me know and I can explain it better haha