Mommy got to read the Prayers of the Faithful during the wedding mass, so she went to the Rehearsal and we all got to go to the Rehearsal Dinner at Brian's parents house afterwards on Friday 8/7/09. Brian is one of 7 children, so his family is great about including kids.
Here are Brian and Vivi during a Chinese tea ceremony that is the Indonesian custom. A brief summary of this interesting ceremony: "Back in the Sung Dynasty, it was customary for the groom from a wealthy family to come armed with precious ornaments made from rare stones, jade and gold, rolls of satin and silk as well as tea cakes to the bride’s home. In the Ming Dynasty, a bride to be had to drink tea when she accepted the offer of marriage. It was a common belief that once the seeds of a tea tree was planted, it could not be moved. Moving the tree would mean death for the plant. Thus the drinking of the tea symbolized staying true to one person throughout one’s life.
To connect large families on wedding days: The tea ceremony during weddings also serves as a means for both parties in the wedding to meet with members of the other family. As Chinese families can be rather extended, one or two hundred people, it is entirely possible during a courtship to not have been introduced to someone. This was particularly true in older generations where the patriarch may have had more than one wife and not all family members were always on good terms. As such, during the tea ceremony, the couple would serve tea to all family members and call them by their official title. Drinking the tea symbolized acceptance into the family. Refusal to drink would symbolize opposition to the wedding and is quite unheard of since it would result in a loss of "face". Older relations so introduced would give a red envelope to the matrimonial couple while the couple would be expected to give a red envelope to younger, unmarried relations.":
And here are Vivi's mother and her mother's best friend (who helped a lot with translating):
On Saturday 8/8/09 we all went to their awesome wedding. It was so much fun. First, the happy couple walking down the aisle. Vivi was gorgeous as was her dress (from Indonesia), Brian didn't look too bad either:
The ring exchange:
Maryam holds Isa:
Exiting the church:
Xia trying to blow bubbles:
A little better with Mommy's help:
Daddy and Isa watch:
The reception was held at Revere Tavern, a very nice place. They had a great idea - they set up a kids table in a back corner with paper, crayons and candy. Great way to keep the kids happy:
The cake was beautiful:
Brian and Vivi's first dance, so in love:
Brian and Vivi cut the cake - they played nice:
Xia enjoyed the cake and ice cream:
After all the candy, food, cake, dancing, etc, the kids were very wound up:
Xia did A LOT of dancing:
Isa did a little too, kind of:
You can't see this one, but the dancing was funny for "Jump on It!":
Vivi's mom, sister, and mom's friend enjoyed Isa:
Here's Brian's family:
Vivi's Mom:
Vivi's family (who could come from so far away):
And last, but not least, the finished creations at the kids table!
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