Walk the walk

Here’s who goes down the aisle first.

By CYNTHIA TAN

Order of the day
Besides the church service or solemnisation, there’s also the tea ceremony for Chinese brides. A quick look at what you can expect.

Fetch the bride
The groom, accompanied by his groomsmen or “brothers”, must go to the bride’s home to pick her up.

Different dialect groups will have customs specific to each, hence, a groom will have different rules. A man marrying a Cantonese bride, must arrive with a suckling pig for instance while the Teochew groom has to pick up his bride in the wee hours of the morning.
Generally though, once a groom arrives at his bride's home, he and his “brothers” will have to face the bride’s bridesmaids or “sisters” and the groom has to fulfil tests set by the “sisters” before he gets to see his bride. More often than not, this is where the “brothers” come in – they are there to help and make sure the groom gets his bride!]

Got her!
Once he’s in her home, the groom will present a bouquet to his bride, “unveil” and kiss her. They then go back to his parents’ home.

The tea ceremony
This commences once the couple arrives at the groom's home. They have to offer tea to his family and relatives, beginning with the grandparents, parents, siblings, and then relatives in descending order of seniority.

In return, relatives will give the couple a hongbao or pieces of jewellery for luck after they have drunk the tea.

Back to mum’s
After the tea ceremony, the couple will take a light lunch, mingling with relatives and friends. The bride has to change into another outfit before returning to her parents’ home for the tea ceremony. It’s considered unlucky for her to return without changing.