Heartwarming Chinese Tea Ceremony in Montreal
I absolutely love photographing the Jing Cha (Chinese tea ceremony ) at weddings—it’s truly one of my favourite cultural traditions to document. The intimate moments shared between family members and the deep symbolism behind each gesture make it such a meaningful experience to witness and to capture through my storytelling lens.
When Helen and Steven asked me to photograph their intimate wedding day, I couldn’t have been more honoured, knowing that the quality of how their tea ceremony would be documented was an expressed priority. The day began with playful, yet heartfelt early morning Ying Qin (the fetching of the bride) at Helen’s parents’ home. Then, we all headed to the Palais de Justice de Montréal for their brief but touching civil marriage ceremony, followed by family portraits in Old Montreal with picturesque historic buildings behind, and Chinatown visible in the opposite direction.
Finally, we celebrated the newlyweds with a couples’ photo session at a neighbourhood park, then headed over to their apartment to make their traditional prayers first, outside on the balcony, then, inside the entrance, and finally, in the tea ceremony room before commencing the tea ceremony. The couple honoured their family members by offering tea, as they received gold necklaces, and red envelopes in exchange. As the ceremony progressed, unprecedented emotions surfaced, touching the heart strings of all who were present.
“Wow thank you so much! It was so fun and emotional to relive some of these moments through your photos. Your documentary style is really spot-on and we’re really glad we chose you to capture this special day”
To view the photos in full frame, you’re invited to click on any image and scroll through the collection in the lightbox.
Grateful for these kinds words…
“Working with Valerie was absolutely great from start to finish! She is super attentive to detail and captured so many beautiful candid moments from our intimate wedding. Would highly recommend!”
