Weddingbee Blog
It may be the year of the tiger, but the king of the jungle still rules. With pride, we’ll watch our guests roar with amazement as talent sharpens its claws and permanently marks our wedding day.
Okay. Maybe the “marking” went a little far, but bad-puns aside, we’ll be having a lion dance at our reception!
Me: Mom, mom! We’re having a lion dance okay?
Sewing-Mom: What? A line dance? That’s awesome, it’ll make for good pictures!
Me: … LION dance.
Sewing-Mom: Line dance?
Me: LION! LION! ROOAARRR!
Sewing-Mom: Ohhh. Lion dance. Okay. But I like the line dance idea.
Me: …
(source) Lion, I say!
The whole thing came about rather unexpectedly, actually.
As a child, I spent every Chinese New Year and Moon Festival in the back of my grandfather’s Chinese community center, waiting to serve food in my cheongsam while his guests did tai chi. He would often bring in a lion dance troupe to perform as well. Naturally, all thoughts of lion dances bring back memories of always being incredibly hungry, as I was prohibited from snacking on the food until after all the seemingly endless programs were complete.
So when Mr. Sew’s aunt brought up the idea several months ago (she has a friend in the troupe club), I dismissed the idea rather quickly.
But for some reason or another, I kept going back to the thought. I saw great pictures from performances done at Mrs. Green Tea’s and Mrs. Toucan’s receptions. I started thinking that it would probably mean a lot to my grandfather, who cannot come due to his bedridden state of health. Performances are only 15-20 minutes long, anyway, what could it hurt to at least check the prices?
(source) I’m digging the team’s purple lion.
Well, it turns out it’s a donation, and a suggested amount of $150 per lion. A lot cheaper than a San Franciscan lion, that’s for sure. But I have no idea what the group is like, since (like many a friendor), all I have is a first name and a phone number rather than an informative website with pictures and videos. The best I could find are a few Flickr photos, so blind faith it has to be. We booked anyway, since there is no up-front payment required. Apparently, we are to “feed” the lions their donation in lai see (red envelopes), after the performance. If anyone wants to elaborate on this custom, please do. My grandfather always got his lions for free, so I’ve only seen them “eat” food like oranges and lettuce.
(source) Hungry, hungry lion!
While my excitement for the idea is slowly growing on me (hopefully no one will restrict the food on me), Mr. Sew’s has been there since day one. He’s never really seen a lion dance in person, so he’s definitely looking forward to it.
One Chinese lion dance at our Japanese Cultural Center reception? Check.
(source) Coming right at ya!
Are you bringing traditions from your past to your wedding? What do you think about lion dances?
I had to laugh at your exchange with your mom. I reminded me of a similar line in the book, The Dim Sum of All Things, where the main character thinks there’s going to line dancing (as opposed to a Lion Dance) at the Chinese New Year’s Banquet.
I thought it would be a cool idea after reading the other posts, but I’m not sure how well it’ll fit @ my club reception!
How fun! I love the idea! Hopefully you can snack on something while the lion dances 
AW. I really wanted to do this!!! Unfortunately no $$$ in budget. 
@iswimibikeirun: really? I’ve got to read that now, haha!
What a fantastic idea!!!
Regrettably, we really don’t have any cool traditions like that. But that’s fantastic! Are you going to do a program with something in it explaining what it is?
Awesome… I wanna come to your wedding! I love lion dances could do without line dances… oh well.
I wanted to have lion dancing sooo very badly. My dad put his foot down, no lions. My dad argued that it was very inappropriate at a Vietnamese wedding. Boo to him. I love the idea still. Can’t wait to see how your’s turn out.
So cool! I love all of your ideas. It’d be really cool if you could do a video conference type thing for grandfather so he could see it live…
Oh that’s great! I attended a Chinese wedding here in LA where they had 2 lions which presented a pair of auspicious couplets to the couple - a gift from their elderly grandparents. The couplets were unfurled at the end of the performance and the wordings wished the couple a long blissful union and lots of kiddies
Love! Love! Love!
FUN!!! wow, your wedding is really going to be so cool! and i agree, cool pics too!
Awesome! I would like to echo Miss Biner’s idea to see about videoconferencing. I had a friend who did this when her dad was hospitalized. He actually was able to participate vocally and “give her away” from his hospital room.
Sounds like it will be quite the visual feast and add a quick burst of fun and energy. Extra points for this being a meaningful tradition that you can incorporate!
OMG! That’s so flipping awesome!! I wonder if my family would be up for a lion dance at my reception????? Loved your convo with your mom btw. It made me literally laugh out loud! LION! LION! ROOAARRR! Can’t wait to see wedding pix of your lion dance!
To “feed” the lions, all you would have to do is put the donation into a red envelop with the plate/dangling rope of lettuce or oranges. (Sometimes stuffed into the lettuce too!) Typically they do the dance and then go for the plate/rope - to do the finale and etc. That is the typical method for business owners during the New Year’s celebrations.
One other way is to just walk up to the lions with the red envelops and literally feed it to the mouth of the lions and they will nibble on your hand/arm while “eating” the red envelop as some kind of symbolism for prosperity. I believe this may be the more traditional route for private events like weddings.
@MissHelen: that’s a good idea!
@Miss Biner: @Karen: Good idea! I’ll have to see how I can set that up, I’m sure he’d love it!
@what2bee: haha, i didn’t notice that!
@alivoo01: lol, can’t hurt to try 
@Miss Sakura: thanks for the explanation! I think I like the idea of it eating my arm, actually. hehe.
@mrspaetz: ahh, that sounds pretty awesome 
@Miss Hot Wings: awww. do they make Vietnamese lions? 
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Mrs. Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HI Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical Engineer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical Engineer Engagement Date: June 27, 2009 Wedding Date: July 2010 Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, Honolulu About Me: I'm an easily entertained, compulsive idea-scheming machine who loves good art, good food, and a good engineering challenge. I'm planning a half-destination wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu - imagine a plethora of movies, art and games; savory Hawaiian food; blended Chinese and Japanese cultural details; lush, fragrant tropical flowers and all the air conditioning a NorCal native could want! And once I marry the love of my life, we'll come back to the 'mainland' to party it up all over again in my hometown of Salinas, the salad-bowl capital of the world!
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