Weddingbee Blog

Hi, hive! I’m still waiting for my pro pics, but I just missed y’all so much that I decided to start my recaps a little early! You don’t mind, do you? But first, what do you think of my recaps title? Say it out loud, you won’t regret it. Clever, huh? Thank you Mrs. Cupcake for the suggestion!

First up, the tea ceremony.

Yeah, I try to clean up nice every once in a while.

But first first, I just want to clarify before I get the inevitable question.

I am not scratching my butt in the above photo. I’m putting on my shoe. I know, that’s the most awkward way to put on a shoe, like, ever, but try putting on shoes when you’re wrapped in the equivalent of Saran wrap, and you’ll find that the *only* way to put on a shoe is all leaning on a chair, foot by your butt, awkward-like.

And second first, the cheongsam I’m wearing above is my mom’s cheongsam from 34 years ago - she wore it to my uncle’s wedding 2 months after giving birth to my sister. Two months. Geez, Mom - wish I was so lucky. With my American diet of Big Macs and Hot Fries I barely fit into that dress, and I have no babies to show for it.

Okay now the tea ceremony.

Tea-hee

We’ve seen quite a few tea ceremonies here on the Hive - we had Mrs. Hot Cocoa’s Chewish tea ceremony. We also witnessed Mrs. Peony and Mrs. Toucan’s more traditional tea ceremonies. However, I think the Hamster tea ceremony most resembled the mood of the lovely Mrs. Perfume’s Vietnamese tea ceremony - a little cluelessness but a lot of good intent.

The tea ceremony is a tradition that is intended to show respect for elders, and (according to my dandy research here on Weddingbee) is the “real” wedding ceremony for some couples. My parents were pretty laid-back about the tea ceremony; my sister didn’t have one, and they were fine with our without one. My in-laws were really pro-ceremony though, so we did it. My mom gathered the supplies and consulted with my aunt, who knew much more about this stuff than any of us did.

Here are things we didn’t do:

1. No kneeling. I tried, but see above “Saran Wrap Dress” description - it was impossible.

2. No extended family. Just the parents. Intimate and cozy, that’s our ceremony.

3. No traditional tea set. Where are the Chinese tea cups? My mom pulled some English china from the basement. Her response when I asked her about it - “Eh, it’ll do.”

4. Nontraditional gifts (I think). My parents weren’t sure what they were supposed to give Mr. Hammy, so they got him a new suit (which he wore for the ceremony) and a wallet with cold hard cash. I got the more traditional jewelry gifts.

Mr. Hamster modeling his new suit. Mrs. Hamster trying not to fall over.

Here are things we did do:

1. We served tea. WIN!

We set up the chairs and the tea cups, and then everyone stood around. No one had any idea what to do. Who goes first? Who serves to whom first? Who gets what? Where’s the food? But lock a bunch of Chinese people into a hotel room long enough, and we’ll eventually make something up. The Hamster-In-Laws sat down first and we got to serving.

Serve

Serving MIL Hamster

Mr. Hamster Serving Mom Hamster

Serve, Serve, Serve

And then we were done! Phew! I think everyone was a bit relieved that we stumbled our way through the tea ceremony with a modicum of tradition and minimal awkwardness.

Then it was on to picture time. I picked a spot on the couch and stayed there - again, Saran Wrap Dress. I’m not going anywhere.

“I want my sweats. And a cheeseburger.”

Me with my In-Laws.

Mr. Hamster with his In-Laws

I call the next series of pictures “Why The Hamsters are Not Ready to Have Kids”:

The Nephew Transfer - almost dropping him! (My excuse: He’s squirmy.)

Trying to bribe him with promises of dessert. He’s not buying it. Mr. Hamster choosing to stay out of these shennanigans.

Then my nephew’s shoe fell off and it was all over.

Finally, we got our act together and posed. Don’t we like nice and normal? You would have never guessed that we were bumbling our way through a tea ceremony just 20 minutes ago, which leads me to Hamster Tip #1:

No need to feel constrained by cultural or traditional norms, if your family isn’t feeling it. There’s no harm in taking what works for you and personalizing it. As you can see, it can lead to lots of laughs!

There you have it, folks. It might not have been the most traditional tea ceremony, but it worked for us. Next up, the rehearsal!

Are you incorporating any cultural traditions into your wedding? Do you also have squirmy nieces and nephews?