Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony

Phyllis Tuckwell were delighted to help one of their patients, Sua, and her family organise a traditional Chinese wedding tea ceremony, to celebrate the engagement of Sua and Tim’s daughter Emily to her fiancé Matthew. When they married, Sua and Tim also took part in a tea ceremony, so were really happy to be able to help organise one for Emily and Matthew too.

The ceremony symbolises welcoming the fiancé to the family and blessing the marriage. The couple offer tea to the bride’s family and then to the groom’s. If the family accepts the offer of tea, then they are accepting the bride or groom into their family as their new son- or daughter in-law. Customs and traditions vary by family and region, and Emily and Matthew kept to as many of Emily’s family’s traditions as they could. The tea was a traditional Chinese Oolong tea, and Emily and Matthew added dried Chinese dates, making the tea sweet, to represent a sweet marriage. Emily’s brother, Michael, helped host the ceremony and poured the tea for Emily and Matthew to serve to Sua and Tim. The bride and groom both wore red, and Sua and Tim gave the couple a red envelope in return for the tea. Similar to those used on Chinese New Year, these envelopes are filled with money or sometimes jewellery, and symbolise prosperity and happiness.

“The staff at Phyllis Tuckwell were absolutely wonderful in helping to organise the tea ceremony,” said Emily. “It was important to both me and my mum that we carried out this tradition and that she would be able to bless my marriage. I will treasure the photos and memories of this day forever.”