{"id":3116,"date":"2011-07-11T22:48:19","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T02:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativelifephotography.com\/blog\/?p=3116"},"modified":"2011-07-11T22:48:19","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T02:48:19","slug":"atlanta-hmong-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/atlanta-hmong-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Hmong Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atlanta Hmong Wedding<\/h4>\n

Houa & Michelle were married back in March. Yes, I know, I am so behind on the blog! Anyway, Bowie and I met Houa and Michelle a little over a year now. We met at Carrabas when they were looking for wedding photographers. During our very first meeting, I could tell these guys were perfect for each other, and that Michelle is a sangria fan (a girl after my own heart). We met for a while chatting about their traditional Hmong Wedding. Now, there are a ton of things that they both told me but not a lot of it has stuck in my memory. The one thing that did stick in my mind after that meeting was that over 700 guests would be attending this party of all parties and that I LOVED Houa & Michelle! \ud83d\ude42\u00a0As time went on, Facebook being what it is, Michelle and I got to know each other well! We all planned to run off to my hometown of Savannah to shoot their engagement session and it was a great success. We all just clicked. Leading up to their wedding we met a few more times for coffee and chatting until the big day came.<\/p>\n

Now, imagine this. You are planning a wedding for 700 guests. In your tradition, it is custom for everyone(family) to help out and put the whole shindig on for all the guest (no planners here..family is the way of it although I am SURE Michelle would have loved a planner to help) \u00a0You can imagine a small level of stress that might bring. Houa & Michelle, with all the twist and turns of their wedding, handled their emotions like a charm. Their wedding turned out to be a huge celebration of their love for each other and their families! Bowie and I (and our assistance Bethany and Ashleigh) were treated like one of their guests and we all had a blast. We even got to dance with some lucky guest toward the end of the night (well not Bowie)! Take a look at this amazing wedding filled with lots of laughter, love, and DANCING! At the end, there is a write up from the bride and groom to give you a little more insight about their traditions! \ud83d\ude42 Also, if you are interested check out this link to learn more about the Hmong<\/a> culture!<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"The above board is part of the traditional ceremony! All the guest would come up to Houa & Michelle and tie their hands showering them with love, best wishes and blessings as they do! There was a ton of boiled chicken at this wedding as well. As you can see one of the family representatives inspecting the feet and wishbone. It is said to be good luck if the feet are curled up nicely together! Looks like Michelle in Houa is in for a good life. Oh, and how cool is it that cash is given? Talk about a great first start to a marriage!
\n\"\"
\nHmong Wedding Events by Day\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\" So, I am sure after seeing everything this wedding has to offer there may be questions! I find this all very interesting, and Michelle & Houa we kind enough to write some facts about the Hmong tradition!<\/p>\n

Day 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the traditional Hmong Marriage to begin the soon to be bride will be taken and brought to the grooms family home.\u00a0 The new groom and bride cannot enter the home through the front door and must enter through a side entrance there we are greeted by a Shaman that blesses us into our home to be both accepted by the family and the ancestors.\u00a0 Upon entrance, messengers are dispatched to inform the bride\u2019s family that their daughter is well and is under the care of the groom\u2019s family.\u00a0 After informing the bride\u2019s family the messengers must now also deal with negotiating a time frame in which the family representatives can meet and discuss the details of both the dowry and wedding itself.<\/p>\n

Day 3:<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 days after the bride enters the groom\u2019s home a large meal is created to receive the blessings and acknowledgment of the groom\u2019s clan and ancestors. This meal cannot have the new bride to participate in any of the labor required to make the meal because during the 3 day period she is entrusted with only learning and not working.\u00a0 The ancestors are called upon to acknowledge their new daughter and protect her as if she was one of their own.\u00a0 Clan members will tie a string onto the wrists of both bride and groom placing upon them and tying them with the blessings of the future and words of encouragement.\u00a0 After this meal positions are appointed or allocated to clan members to find people to represent the groom\u2019s clan during the negotiations.<\/p>\n

Appointed Date:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The day has arrived where the families will meet to discuss the dowry and wedding date.\u00a0 Here the representatives of both families will meet for the first time in the bride\u2019s home.\u00a0 Primarily a $5,000.00 payment would be sufficient for the dowry of the daughter but can vary from individual family to family.\u00a0 Once the amount is reached and a date has been agreed on for the wedding. The bride\u2019s clan can air out any grievances or discrepancies that may have been conducted by the groom\u2019s clan.\u00a0 In our culture, it is important to remember we do not just marry individuals we marry into each other\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Wedding Date:<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the wedding day both the groom and bride dress in traditional attire.\u00a0 Here the families will have a feast involving both sides of the family where both the groom and bride must be chastised to be better as a couple or informed of how they need to grow together.\u00a0 Here the dowry is paid to the bride\u2019s family in exchange for their daughter.\u00a0 As the feast draws to a close the groom must bow to the bride\u2019s family.\u00a0 The bowing process can last up to hours as a sign of respect to the bride\u2019s family and as a reminder that the pain you feel today should never be passed forward or as not to hit your bride.\u00a0 As the bride and groom leaves, the bride\u2019s brothers and uncles are allowed to make the groom engulf alcohol.\u00a0 Upon drinking with each other this oral contract states that we are now brothers or sons and if we were to cross each other\u2019s path and not recognize the other with a greeting we would be allowed to throw a rock at one another.\u00a0 Of course, this custom no longer holds true.<\/p>\n

Returning Home:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon returning home the groom must bow and thank all the clan members for their support and superhuman effort for helping to complete the wedding.\u00a0 At this time the groom must also bow to all those that participated and share a drink with everyone there as well.\u00a0 This drink with each member of the family is to signify the bonds of our clans or our brotherhood that we have in helping one another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Atlanta Hmong Wedding Houa & Michelle were married back in March. Yes, I know, I am so behind on the blog! Anyway, Bowie and I met Houa and Michelle a little over a year now. We met at Carrabas when they were looking for wedding photographers. During our very first meeting, I could tell these … Continue reading “Atlanta Hmong Wedding”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[48,49,57,68,71,142,216,254,256],"class_list":["post-3116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wedding","tag-altanta-graphic-designer","tag-alternative-life-photography-design","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-photographer","tag-atlanta-wedding-photographer","tag-hmong-wedding","tag-sharon-wheaton","tag-wedding-photographer","tag-weddings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharonwheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}