On Saturady 11/15 Ray one of my x-team leader from Prudential called up and invited me to his best friend’s wedding that was to take place the next day. I was happy and told him to pick me up in the morning. On Sunday he came to pick me at 7am, after a long drive we reached the grooms house at 830, everyone was waiting for us. 7 unmarried boys were well dressed in a smart white shirt and tie and were holding 7 gifts, each of which were nicely covered with red Chinese cloth. The Groom was wearing a smart white 3 piece suit.
On the way to the brides house, i learned alot about traditional Vietnamese wedding.
Preparations for the traditional Vietnamese wedding first begins by choosing a date and time for the marriage ceremony. This is decided by a Buddhist monk, Spiritual leader, or fortune teller due to the spiritual nature of the occasion.
The day of the wedding consists of an extensive array of ceremonies: the first is the ceremony to ask permission to receive the bride (abandoned in modern Vietnam), the second is the procession to receive the bride at her house, and the third is to the procession of bringing the bride to the groom's house. Both Vietnamese and oversea-Vietnamese who desire to have a hybrid traditional Vietnamese and Western-style wedding will oftentimes incorporate the last two ceremonies with the Western-style wedding.
When we reached the bride's house, the 7 unmarried boys handed the gifts to 7 unmarried girls who had come to receive us and we all went inside the gorgeously decorated house. Both the families when about with the rituals which went on for 45 minutes, after that we took the bride with us to the grooms house.
Traditional and modern symbols of marriage are often featured during Vietnamese marriage ceremonies as decorations on the wedding umbrellas, lacquer gift boxes (or the red cloth that covers them), or even the decorations in the homes of both the bride and groom. They usually include lanterns, doves, initials of the couple, among other things. However, one symbol that is indispensable are the words "song hỷ." This phrase also appears as the character 囍, which is reflective of Vietnam's influence by Chinese characters as well as the vernacular Nom script before the 20th century. While literacy in these scripts during feudalistic times was restricted mostly to scholars, officials and other members of the elite, characters such as these have always played an aesthetic role in important occasions such as weddings.
At the end of the ceremonies, there was a wedding reception for the two families and guests, the wedding was attended by 30 people, and the reception was attended by around 300 people. Drinking and feasting (all crazy foodstuffs) went on for about 2 hours and then everyone again wished the newlywed and we all went home.
This was my first time to witness a Vietnamese wedding; I wish the groom and the bride all the good luck and wishes.
Pictures of the wedding can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/keyur.trivedi/TraditionalVietnameseWedding
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