The second type of wedding I would like to talk about is a traditional Vietnamese wedding. Living in Vietnam for a few years, I've been to many of these. The following descriptions are of a traditional Buddhist wedding.
Like an American wedding, at the wedding reception, the bride wears many beautiful gown and the groom wears a tuxedo. What is unique about a Vietnamese wedding is its process. While performing these ceremonies, the bride wears "ao dai" and a headdress. The groom wears the male equivalent of what the bride wears. The first is the engagement ceremony that happens months before the wedding. This is when the groom and his entire family comes over to meet the bride and her entire family. At this ceremony, both sets of parents talk about their children and make the final decision to whether or not they allow the marriage. When they agree, the parents will go and consult a Buddhist monk, Spiritual leader, or fortune teller to set our the best day and time for the wedding ceremony.
During the wedding ceremony, there are three main traditions:
- Bringing gifts to the bride's house and asking for permission to "receive" her
- Receiving the bride
- Bringing the bride back to the groom's house
The process of coming to over to pick up the bride consists of the groom's family traveling with his family to her family home, no matter the distance. His family and close friends are led by a representative that is often not part of the family. They must come bearing gifts in containers covered in red clothes. These gifts contain are betel, fruit, cakes, a roast pig, fabric, and jewelry for the bride.
When the groom's family gets to the bride's how, they perform ceremonies such as burning incense to ask her ancestry for permission, thanking her parents with tea by bowing, and bowing to each other. Once the ceremonies are completed, they head back to the groom's home and she is introduced to all the members of his family. The ceremony continues with her burning incense to greet his ancestry. Finally, when all the traditional ceremonies are completed, they have a party either at the groom's house or a restaurant where they greet their family and friends as newlyweds.
Once a again, the above description is an overview of common practices in Vietnam for a Buddhist wedding. For a catholic wedding in Vietnam, some of the traditions will be different.
Please feel free to ask questions or comment on my post!
Thank you,
Khanh
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