A Vietnamese tea ceremony highlight, from the procession to the altar
What many Vietnamese families abroad call the tea ceremony is the wedding day rite at the family homes, and its center is the ancestral altar. The groom's family arrives in procession with gifts on red-covered trays, an elder from each family speaks formally, the couple lights incense and bows before the bride's family altar to tell the ancestors of the marriage, and they offer tea to her parents, who give advice and jewelry. Then the bride leaves with the groom's family and the rite is repeated at his home. To get a highlight of it, upload the tea ceremony footage as its own WeddingEditor project, name the speakers and the parents in the preference questions, and WeddingEditor's AI editing makes a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser.
Practice differs between northern, central and southern families, between Buddhist, Catholic and other households, and between Vietnam and the diaspora.
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Last updated October 2026
How to get a highlight of the tea ceremony
- 1
Put both homes in one project
Create a project for the tea ceremony and upload the rite at the bride's home and at the groom's: the procession lining up, the trays carried in, the spokespersons' speeches, the incense and bows, the tea and jewelry, the farewell and the welcome. If a second shooter went ahead to the groom's house, add their files to the same project. You can upload every clip without trimming it first.
- 2
Name the speakers and the parents
The speeches carry the meaning of this rite, so choose More speeches & voices for the audio and name each spokesperson in the speeches question: which family they spoke for, where they stood, what they wore. In the moments question list the altar bow, the tea for each set of parents and the jewelry, in order. Note anything the family asked to keep out, such as the altar close up.
- 3
Watch and download
Start processing with One Wedding or a plan credit; it typically takes 24 to 72 hours. Watch the edit in the app, download the 1080p MP4, and if the order of the two homes is wrong, send a revision note by email from the app. Up to two rounds come with the full edit.
Moments of the Vietnamese tea ceremony to list
Write these in the order they happened at each home. Many families hold the rite at both houses on the same day.
The procession
The groom's family walking to the bride's home in order, an elder at the front, the groom with flowers, and young men in matching ao dai carrying the red-covered trays.
Asking for the bride
The groom's family spokesperson formally asking to receive the bride, and the bride's family spokesperson answering, often while both families stand facing each other.
The bride brought out
The bride's mother leading her out to meet the groom, often in a red ao dai and a round khan dong headpiece.
Before the ancestral altar
The couple lighting incense and bowing together before the bride's family altar, with an elder speaking to the ancestors about the marriage.
Tea, advice and jewelry
The couple pouring tea, and in some families rice wine, for her parents; her parents speaking words of advice; earrings, a bracelet or a necklace put on the bride; red envelopes given.
Welcomed at the groom's home
The bride arriving at the groom's house, the same altar rite there, and tea for his parents, who welcome her into the family.
What happens at a Vietnamese tea ceremony, in order
This is a common shape. Some families compress it into one home or an hour, and many diaspora families hold it on the morning of a Western style ceremony or banquet.
1. The groom's procession (ruoc dau)
The groom's family travels to the bride's home with gifts on lacquered trays, commonly an odd number, covered in red cloth. Young unmarried men from his side carry them and young women from her side receive them at the door.
2. Formal speeches
An elder or chosen spokesperson for each family speaks: the groom's side introduces itself and asks for the bride, and the bride's side accepts. These speeches are often in formal Vietnamese and are the heart of the rite for many families.
3. The altar rite at the bride's home (le vu quy)
The couple lights incense and bows before the ancestral altar, presenting the groom to her ancestors, then offers tea to her parents and relatives. Her parents give advice and jewelry, and she leaves with the groom's family.
4. The welcome at the groom's home (le thanh hon)
At the groom's home the couple repeats the rite before his family's altar and serves tea to his parents, who welcome the bride. Catholic families may replace or join the altar rite with prayers or a Mass.
The voices you recorded
The speeches, the elder's words at the altar and the parents' advice can stay in the edit as your cameras captured them, with music in support as your audio preference sets. Rooms with an altar are often small and crowded, so the clearest recording usually decides what can be kept.
One edit for the rite
This project produces one edit, a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser of the tea ceremony, made from your footage by WeddingEditor's AI editing.
Parts of the Vietnamese tea ceremony and what to put in the preferences
| Part of the ceremony | What it looks or sounds like | Preference note |
|---|---|---|
| Procession | A line of family members and tray carriers walking to the bride's door | "Keep the tray carriers arriving, wide and then close." |
| Spokespersons | Two elders speaking formally, families standing | "Keep the opening lines from both uncles." |
| Bride brought out | Her mother leading her into the room | "Must include her mother bringing her out." |
| Altar rite | Incense smoke, the couple bowing, an elder addressing the ancestors | "The bow at her family altar, with the elder's words." |
| Tea and jewelry | Tea poured for the parents, earrings or a bracelet put on the bride | "Show his mother fastening the bracelet." |
| Groom's home | The same rite before his family's altar | "One short moment from the groom's altar to close." |
What is the Vietnamese tea ceremony?
The Vietnamese tea ceremony is the name many families, especially abroad, give to the traditional wedding day rite at the family homes, known in Vietnamese as le vu quy at the bride's home and le thanh hon at the groom's. The couple presents the marriage to each family's ancestors at the altar and offers tea to the parents, who bless them. A tea ceremony highlight is a short edit of it, made from your footage.
It is not the an hoi, the betrothal held earlier, and not the evening banquet. It also differs from the Chinese tea ceremony: the Vietnamese rite centers on the ancestral altar, incense and formal speeches by each family's spokesperson, while the Chinese one centers on serving tea to each living elder in turn.
Vietnamese tea ceremony video questions
Can I get a highlight of just the tea ceremony?
Yes. Upload the tea ceremony footage to a project of its own; its one edit covers the rite at both homes if both are in the project. The banquet can be a separate project.
The speeches were long. How much will the highlight keep?
Only what fits a short edit. Mark the lines that matter most in the speeches question, such as the request for the bride and the bride's father's reply, and the edit builds around them. Keep the full speeches for a longer cut you make yourself.
Is it all right to show the ancestral altar?
That is for the family to decide. Ask them before the day, film within their wishes, and use the avoid question for anything that should stay out, such as close ups of photographs on the altar.
Our couple held the rite at one home only. Does that change anything?
No. Upload what happened and describe it in your notes. Many families, especially abroad, combine the two homes into one rite or hold it at a single house or venue.
Will the speeches stay in Vietnamese?
Yes. The edit can keep the spoken Vietnamese your cameras captured. If relatives who do not speak Vietnamese will watch, add English captions yourself after download.
What does a tea ceremony highlight cost?
One Wedding is $119 one-time for one wedding; if you subscribe, the project takes a single plan credit.
More for Vietnamese weddings
The procession, the altar and the parents' blessing
Create your account, upload the tea ceremony as its own project, and name who spoke for each family.
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