pics of where my bhuddist ceremony will be taking place

[gingerBcookie]

I finally found some pics online. The first part will take place in my parents home, where my FI and his family come to pay respects and whisk me away to get married. Usually they the bride to the groom''s house, but sine my FI is not bhuddist, he''ll be takingme to our temple. Here the ceremony starts with procession at the end of this bridge. The statue you see is of Lady Buddha, I believe it''s the largest in America. We''ll walk across the bride in a procession led by our parents and granparents.

 

[gingerBcookie]

another shot of bthe bridge

 

[gingerBcookie]

last shot of bridge

 

[gingerBcookie]

We''ll continue up this walkway to the temple...their won''t be ppl lined up for us though. This is a photo of one of our religious ceremonies.

 

[gingerBcookie]

semi shot of the front of the temple

 

[gingerBcookie]

altar with some of the monks that will likely be performing the ceremony

 

[gingerBcookie]

last pic...just close -up of the altar

 

[selflove]

Wow--that is so cool! You are going to have such a special wedding. Can you show pics of the temple or is that a faux pas?
I was just in China and I have a new-found appreciation for Buddhism. (And for everything Chinese!) I would love to see more pictures and here more about the Buddhist wedding traditions. What is the religion of your FI, if you don''t mind me asking?

 

[gingerBcookie]

Thanks selflove! My FI is catholic. As far as being a faux pas, I don''t know. I hope not! I got these pics off their website, so I don''t THINK so.

 

[AndyRosse]

Wow, how exciting!

 

[ellewoods]

Ginger the temple looks amazing! Really beautiful and special. The pictures will be amazing too!

My BF and I spent a couple months in Thailand this year and I fell in love with the culture and the spirit of Buddhism. Would you mind telling a little how a Buddhist ceremony works? What unique rituals are performed? I''d love to hear all about what you''re planning and learn more about a Buddhist wedding experience.

 

[freckles127]

Wow GingerB,

That''s an amazing place... the bridge is vibrant.. I wonder what will be going through your mind as you walk across it..

Where is this temple?

 

[sarita]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. The little bridge reminds me of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco (much smaller and not the same color) - maybe not that similar I guess but the closest thing I have seen anyway. It''s nice that you can incorporate your beliefs into the wedding this way.

 

[MelissaSue]

OH WOW!!! How incredible!!! You must be SO excited!!!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Wow Ginger, that will be so pretty and meaningful!!! I have a lot of respect for Buddhism and its tenets....they make a whole lotta sense to me. And something about Buddhist places of worship just say ''serenity'' and ''peace'' to me...great place to start a new life together.

 

[moon river]

What a beautiful and serence place to start your two souls journey together.

You have to share your wedding pics with us.

 

[gingerBcookie]

Thanks everyone! I grew up seeing only Viet bhuddist weddings in real life and seeing american style weddings on TV...and loved both! I''m sooooo excited that I get to actually have both ceremonies to satiate the two differnet weddeings I''ve been dreaming about since I was a little girl. Because I''m marrying out of race, culture, langauge, and religion (Viet/Mexican, Asian/Hispanic, Viet/Spanish, Bhuddist/Catholic) it''s become even more imporatnt to me to try to preserve my heritage so that our children can learn about both side of themselves.

As for the wedding ceremony itself, our family has always done the home ceremony route, so this is the first time anyone in my family will be getting married at the temple, so we don''t exactly know how it all works. We''re going to go to observe one in late feb, so we can have a better feel for what we need to do, and the monks hold a rehearsal with us the weekend before. I''ll def post pics of my wedding (GIVEN!)

Oh and my wedding ao dai is in my knot bio if anyone is interested (in the knot bio thread) -- FI will NOT be wearing the traditional guys garb...i think it looks silly unless you are a cute little baby, or very old and distinguished.

 

[gingerBcookie]

oh..and here is a pic of a more typical ao dai that I want to wear to the engagement ceremony. That takes place before the wedding (duh) anywhere from a year to a day before, and is basically a procession and tea ceremony that symbolizes the two families agreement to our union. Typically you wear pastels (usually pink) for the e-ceremony and red and gold for the wedding.

 

[moon river]

That is beautiful!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Your temple is beautiful, and I completely appreciate your ability to accomodate both wedding traditions. Your celebration is going to be amazing!

 

[flopkins]

oh ginger what a beautiful temple!! I love the reflection in the water of the bridge, and that huge statue... it''s awesome!!

 

[SeattleSparkle]

Ginger, I saw the beautiful pictures of the temple you are getting married in ... and thought to myself, "that looks a lot like the temple in Houston where my boyfriend''s grandfather''s memorial service was ..." and then I looked at your profile and saw that you were from Houston, and its the same temple!! (My bf is Vietnamese too.) I kind of feel like a piece of me will be there for your wedding.

When I saw pictures of the temple for the first time ..... its just so beautiful and I just know that your wedding will be gorgeous. Since it looks like I''ll be marrying into a Vietnamese family, (like your FI) I can''t wait to hear more details about your wedding.

 

[crafftygrrl]

GingerBC,

That temple looks achingly beautiful. I bet Buddhist wedding ceremonies are so beautiful and meaningful.

I once attended a Buddhist funeraL It was one of the most meaningful and beautiful religious ceremonies I have ever attended.

I can only imagine what a wedding ceremony is.

You seem to be getting the best of both worlds with your DH.

Mazel Tov! as my people say.

I hope all your wedding plans go smoothly and you have the wedding (and marriage) of your dreams.