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Taymar and Max had an interesting way to get their guests involved in the ceremony. Taymar's “ribbon ladies” passed out pieces of string to all of the guests, who then lined up and each tied their ribbon around the couple's wrists, offering advice and love at the same time. It was like a communal handfasting! This is an awesome idea to get your guests involved, as long as your guest list is a manageable size. [Updated to add: the concept is an adaptation of an Hmong tradition.]
Check out the rest of Taymar & Max's summer camp weekend wedding.
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
this.is.AMAZING!
This is such a beautiful tradition, and I love the fact that it’s being taken up, but I think it’s important to note that it is a Hmong ceremony/tradition. This is partly about cultural sensitivity, but also about making informed choices. If the marriage rituals we choose have cultural or historical significance, then we should educate ourselves on them in order to gain meaning and adopt them with intention.
Oh wow! Thank you so much for letting us know — we had no idea. I did some quick googling and found this:
http://mozemoua.com/2011/02/14/hmong-weddings-hu-plig-khi-tes/
…but Lisa, if you have additional links to recommend where we can all learn more, that’d be awesome.
Man, I LOVE LEARNING NEW THINGS!
Unfortunately, I don’t have much info on it. I had the good fortune of being involved in two string tying ceremonies, both used to pass on blessings. The first, which wasn’t at a wedding, involved everyone tying strings on each other’s wrists and knotting once for each blessing, then wearing the strings until they wore through and fell off. The second was at a Hmong wedding, where everyone tied a string around the bride’s wrist and the groom’s. Dinner was also served then, so people had something to do and didn’t have to wait forever. I believe they wore the strings for a set amount if time and then took them off and slept on them to bless their dreams (but I don’t claim expertise – I might be mistaken).
Karin, I’m touched that you will get to reuse your parents’. That’s lovely. Can you tell us more about it?
This is also a tradition in Thailand. The strings used in the ceremony are woven and blessed by the monks. My mother and father did this for their wedding and for mine I plan to use the same strings that my mother has saved.