Las Vegas Cultural Wedding Celebration | Elvis Wedding + Tea Ceremony

Lina and David were some of the sweetest and most organized people I’ve ever seen plan a wedding! Their beautiful day was so sunny with incredible weather, and it truly was a perfect blend of a traditional wedding celebration, a Vegas party, and a cultural blending of the two families – the tea ceremony!

The tea ceremony is commonly done on the wedding day, after a traditional marriage ceremony. It originated in Chinese culture in the 600s, and it’s used to honor parents and family members in the joining of the two families. Parents and in-laws are key recipients of the tea, but it’s not uncommon to see grandparents, aunts, and uncles honored, too. Typically, members of the wedding party will help during the ceremony by staging the tea for the next recipients. Then, the wedding couple kneels and offers the cups of tea to the next family members.

While these ceremonies are traditionally done in the home of the wedding couple, that wasn’t exactly possible with this Seattle-dwelling couple. So we had their suite in the hotel cleared and decorated to hold the ceremony! In exchange for the tea, the honorees will often give the wedding couple a small red envelope, signaling fortune and good luck, filled with a financial gift. The family members don’t have to finish the tea they’re given, and there are no superstitious repercussions for leaving tea in the cup.

In terms of fitting this into your wedding day timeline, I recommend hosting this tea ceremony during your cocktail hour. This flows best when couples opt for a first look before the ceremony, followed by their formal family and wedding party photos. Then you can flow right into the ceremony, dismiss your guests to the cocktail hour, and inviting specified guests to the tea ceremony. Then, you can typically time the tea ceremony to end when the formal reception would be beginning, allowing you to just party for the rest of the night!

If you’re loving this blend of Las Vegas elopement vibes plus the traditional goodness, hit that button below and let’s boogie!

Photography: Amber Garrett Photography for Katelyn Faye Photography
Venues: 702 Weddings and The M Hotel and Resort