An immediate family usually gives more money to the bride and groom and many couples use the money to pay for the entire wedding. After this is the official wedding ceremony. Reds and pinks remain a popular choice for brides while grooms go with blues or blacks. The ceremony stems from ancient times when parents had absolute say in whom their children would marry. Fresh fruit: This stands for many children the couple will have in the future, which means the wedding is fruitful, happy, and a blessing (traditionally, Vietnamese believed that children were gifts, if they have many children, this means they have luck and many precious gifts in their life). But what if they dont? The reception ceremony is the official welcome and confirmation of the brides joining the new family, after which they can head to the grooms house, their own home or drive their way to the honeymoon. 482 1 6 16. A man writing wishes to the newlyweds at a wedding reception By tradition from Nguyn dynasty, the gowns of the bride had many layers, including pink (hng), blue or green (xanh), and the outermost layer was black. During the meeting, the two families can also discuss the next steps of the wedding. The money is considered a gesture of goodwill symbolizing your support for the new couples finances and wishes for them to start a new life together. TSHA | Vietnamese - Handbook of Texas The brides family will pay a visit to the grooms house as invited. Jewelry, typically an engagement ring, a pair of earrings, and at least one circular gold necklace called a king, will then be placed onto the future bride. Some have joined Protestant The hair combing ceremony is a Chinese wedding custom that takes place a day before the ceremony. The meeting is a small one that involves only the couples immediate families namely their parents and siblings. In HCMC typically people will go about 1-2 hours later than the invited time (i.e. The bride stays in her room as a respected figure from the grooms family introduces the groom and his parents. Red envelopes with cash or checks are traditionally given to the couple during the reception as gifts (there are no registries in After the ceremony, the bride is considered to have joined the grooms family, and she will follow her soon-to-be husband to his house to proceed with the next step: A couple arriving at the grooms house on their wedding day, A wedding ceremony held at a wedding centre, Trung Tm Hi Ngh Tic Ci & Khch Sn King Garden, You can dress casually at a wedding, but just be sure to dress politely, Both formal and casual clothing are fine but the most important thing is to, . For Westerners, buffet weddings are not an uncommon thing when it comes to weddings. Again, the most common way to do so is to prepare an envelope of money with your name on it and ask a mutual acquaintance to put it in the money box on the day of the wedding. It's popular for the parents to take the couple to a temple where a monk or even a fortune teller will choose a date for a ceremony. Image credit: Trng ng Palace. The brides family will then show their wedding gifts, which often include a pair of earrings and at least one kieng, indicating good luck. With the omitting of the first traditional ceremony ("asking permission to receive the bride"), the last two traditional ceremonies ("receiving bride at her house" and "bringing bride to groom's house") tend to no longer take place on the day of the wedding but instead are used in place of a Western engagement ceremony. But this is optional. Japan, for instance, could prove the right place to begin anew with your new partner in crime. The rules are less strict today and you dont have to wait that long, but if you just attended a funeral in the past couple of months, you should still call the couple to let them know and apologize for your absence. However, bringing your company without notice beforehand is still considered impolite. Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church | Arlington TX The average amount is usually. The couple will then proceed to pray at the brides family altar and serve tea to each others family elders as a sign of respect. Instead of canvas, in a vintage wedding, wood, lace, or burlap will be used to the maximum. Then, the gifts are unwrapped, with some placed on the ancestral altar, which means the groom now has permission to take the bride with him. The troop is usually led by a couple that is most wealthy and successful among the relatives, this means to wish the to-be-wed couples a blessing life together in the future. You might be wondering why I have to mention what not to say to the new couple. Come to share the joy and wish the newlyweds good luck, but refrain from asking questions that are too personal Unlike many events that will occur during the actual wedding, the proposal is very informal; only immediate family members (mostly the parents) are involved and arrangements were done over drinks and food; the groom's family traditionally will provide the wine, sweets, betel leaves and areca nuts as a symbol of their agreement. Excessive as it might sound, but from another perspective, its a way to convey respect and consideration for your friends or family members on their big day. Previous to the Nguyn dynasty, it is likely that women simply wore fancy, elaborate versions of o t thn. For the bride, the design is traditionally long sleeved and high collared. At the end of the Tea and Candle Ceremony, they light a dragon and phoenix candle, officially symbolizing the unity of families. As the result, the couple and their parents can often sit down and have their meal once most guests have already finished their course. Since modern weddings are much influenced by Western culture, just a few Vietnamese families, especially Catholic ones, reserve the custom of exchanging wedding bands. Vietnamese wedding Ladies and women are all dressed in Ao Dai. Traditional clothes of Vietnam have always been diverse depending on the area and occasion, so wedding clothes varied in style and trend throughout history. The boxes are handed to the bridesmaids and placed on a table. On the day of the wedding, the parade of the grooms family will arrive in this order: the first one will be the spokesperson of the grooms family, followed by the grooms father, the lucky man and the rest of his friends and family. However, one symbol that is indispensable are the words "song h." The bride and groom, in front of all their guests, will turn to their parents. 100 basic Vietnamese phrases you need to know! Before the wedding day, the groom's family would make a trip to the bride's home with a gift of betel nuts to officially ask permission to receive the bride. Alcohol and tea: These are the presents to show respect and thankful gratitude to the brides ancestors. If you wonder why its red and odd numbers, then here would be the explanation: These two factors are believed to be lucky for young couples on their wedding day. During this time, the mother will instruct the bride on how to be a good wife, mother, and daughter-in-law for her new family. L dm ng the Vietnamese proposal ceremony, L n hi the Vietnamese engagement ceremony, This event is the next step after the proposal, an engagement ceremony or the. Each ceremony team member will be given a red envelope with money inside, which shows the gratitude and good luck from the newlywed couple. Before he officially gets the green light to see his bride, a groom must show the gifts to her family members. Once again, the groom and his family head to the brides house with decorated cars, bouquet to take the bride to their places. Hon le means wedding ceremony. The photos are, later on, printed out and given to the guest as thanks for showing up and supporting the newlyweds on their big day. Guests of both families would come to the wedding, do the greetings, and its already photoshoot time! Most current-day Vietnamese weddingsboth in Vietnam and overseasincorporate both Western and Vietnamese traditions. All about cost of living in Vietnam Updated 2022 (Post COVID), Lotus: 11 Facts About Vietnams National Flower. In modern weddings, brides usually change into at least three different gowns throughout the entire wedding or even during just the reception itself. Commonly, future The bride is welcomed to her new husbands with fireworks and brought to the grooms ancestral altar as an introduction to the grooms kin, then finally to their new bedroom. For brides, the outfit includes an extravagant (often transparent) outer cloak; some brides choose to not wear it in favor of showing off their dresses more or replace the cloak with an attached cape instead. This was WebMy fiance and I originally planned to do a bi-lingual wedding invitation (in Vietnamese and English) but his parents told us that they want the invitation in English only. The day of a persons death even becomes a celebrated family holiday. , such as When are you going to have a baby? or How much are you spending on your honeymoon? you get the idea. The wedding gown compared to other traditional Vietnamese clothes is more intricate in terms of design and only reserved for the wedding days. Formal and casual clothing is acceptable, but the most important thing is to dress conservatively, excluding shorts and sleeveless, sometimes. With a Natural wedding style, decoration is essential. In Vietnam, it is believed that if you just lose a family member, you should avoid joyous occasions such as weddings so as not to bring bad luck to the hosts. After the two families reach a consensus, the grooms family will deliver two gift boxes to the brides. Traditionally, future brides would embroider a pair of lovebirds, known as chim uyn ng, and give them to their fianc during the ceremony. The bride and groom serving tea to their family elders 10 Vietnamese Wedding Traditions and Customs - East . Enjoying The Smart Local Vietnam? Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. After such, all family and friends of the couple are invited to a reception ceremony held at the grooms house. However, they basically want to translate the traditional Vietnamese wedding invitation into English and I'm not sure exactly how to do this. Decorations in the ceremony, from the clothing to the gifts received usually will include lanterns, doves, initials of the couple, among other things. 2023 Vietnam Discovery Travel. After all, preparing for a wedding that can involve hundreds of guests is a daunting task, so do your part to let the groom and bride know how many people will be present so as not to catch them by surprise. Elaborate 7 to 10 course meals are served, often starting with cold platters then followed by hot dishes such as seasoned lobster, seafood hot pot, and other Vietnamese and Chinese banquet dishes. Incense and candles are part of the decor, as well. The lady and husband-to-be will stand at the wedding hall entrance to take pictures with every one of their visitors. It's customary for the groom's parents to lead a procession to the home of the bride's family. The engagement ceremony serves as an announcement to the rest of the community that a wedding will take place soon and marks the day that the future bride is now the fiance of the future groom. The to-be husband and wife kowtow to the ancestors, praying for good fortune and wealth for their life later on. As the most important ceremony, the reception often welcomes many guests. And why wouldn't they? Grandparents and parents will lead the group, followed by the groom, the ceremony team, and other people. After obtaining permission from the brides family, the groom is then allowed to enter her room and bring her out. The bride and groom will go back to the lobby again to say goodbye to guests and take group photos. And of course, white or cream-color dresses should be avoided by guests so as to not rob the spotlight from the bride. o Mnh Ph differs from Ao dai in details, for example, o Mnh Ph is embroidered with Phoenix, the cloak is exaggerated. The entire wedding process begins with the l dm ng, or the proposal. Both ceremonies ended with a wedding reception to farewell the two families and guests showing up in the ceremony. Bridesmaids will traditionally wear matching pink gowns or in a color contrasting the bride's own gown, and groomsmen can wear black, blue, or matching the bridesmaid gowns.