Celebrate Your Heritage With These 15 Taiwanese Wedding Traditions

Getting married brings two families together and, with that union, comes lots of thoughts and perspectives on how a wedding should be done. If your family has Taiwanese heritage, then incorporating Taiwanese wedding traditions is a lovely way to acknowledge your loved ones.

Whether you want to have a fully traditional Taiwanese wedding ceremony or incorporate just a few elements into a multicultural celebration, you can find wedding planners and experts who specialize in Taiwanese wedding customs, along with other traditions, on The Knot Vendor Marketplace.

To get a better understanding of what goes into a Taiwanese wedding, including the attire, food and ceremony and reception traditions, we spoke with multilingual and multicultural wedding specialist Jenny Chiu; Nancy Shen, wedding planner and cofounder of Aisle Ai Weddings; and Jenn Qiao, cofounder of East Meets Dress.

Taiwanese Wedding Traditions in This Story: History | Prewedding | Attire | Ceremony | Reception | Food & Drink | Postwedding

A Brief History of Taiwanese Wedding Traditions

"Historically, marriages in Taiwan often involved matchmaking by a matchmaker or through family connections," says Shen. Once a marriage was decided upon, a formal betrothal ceremony called Guo Da Li would be held. This would involve both families because of the significance placed upon both families coming together to start a new chapter.

Shen explains, "During Guo Da Li, blessings are exchanged between the families, expressing hopes for the couple's future happiness and prosperity."

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Just as they've been done for centuries, Taiwanese weddings can mean buckling in for the long haul. "A Taiwanese wedding can start as early as 3 or 4 am and finish just before midnight," says Chiu.

Prewedding Taiwanese Traditions

While many modern couples will choose to have an engagement party, bridal shower and all the trappings of a twenty-first century wedding, there are lovely Taiwanese prewedding customs that you can incorporate.

Guo Da Li and Betrothal Gifts

The concept of Guo Da Li is still commonly celebrated today, with many couples coming together with their families to decide on an auspicious day for this official "asking."

"This is when the groom and his family bring gifts and often include precious jewelry such as gold bracelets and necklaces to the bride's family to express their sincerity in welcoming the bride into their family," says Chiu. Today, she explains, this often is part of a family dinner with both sides coming together to celebrate.

Shen adds that the betrothal gifts can also include red envelopes filled with money and traditional cakes, fruits and tea to symbolize prosperity, fertility, respect and harmony.

Setting the Wedding Date

Setting the wedding date on an auspicious date is a top priority in Taiwanese culture. " Choosing a lucky wedding date is believed to enhance the couple's prospects for a harmonious and prosperous marriage. It sets a positive tone for the beginning of the union, ensuring that the marriage starts off on the right foot," says Shen.

To choose the right date, the couple will often consult traditional calendars and astrology. Family members may weigh in, and, together, they'll choose a date that is in harmony with both their schedules and the universe.

Traditional Taiwanese Wedding Attire

"Red is a prominent color in Taiwanese weddings due to its auspicious and joyful symbolism in the culture," says Qiao, and she works with brides to weave traditional Taiwanese customs into their wedding day look. Yet, despite the intricacy and formality of the bride, the guests at a Taiwanese wedding are often surprisingly casual from a western perspective.

Bride's Attire

"It's traditional for the bride to have several outfit changes, so typically the bride might choose to don a traditional qipao for their tea ceremony and then change into a white, western-style wedding dress for the wedding," says Qiao. The tea ceremony dress often has a mandarin collar and other traditional elements, including beading, red and gold embroidery, and a qipao frog button design. Some brides prefer to merge the classic and modern elements into one dress.

"Many of our bridal dresses are in red, but occasionally we'll also receive requests for gold, pink, white and blue. Some fabrics feature traditional wedding symbols like the phoenix and dragon, which represents the bride and groom," says Qiao.

Groom's Attire

"The groom typically wears a western-style suit or tuxedo in dark colors like black, navy or gray, but they could also incorporate some traditional elements such as wearing a red tie or adding red accents to their accessories," explains Qiao.

She has made custom ties and bowties in a traditional red brocade fabric. Qiao notes that in more traditional weddings the groom may wear a Tang jacket with intricate embroidery and a mandarin collar.

Guest Attire

Most guests will avoid wearing red since that is seen as the traditional bridal color. Additionally, Qiao says, "Guests tend to dress more casually, and typically avoid the colors white and black because they are often associated more with mourning."

Taiwanese Wedding Ceremony Traditions

There are elements to Taiwanese weddings that have lasted through the centuries and generations. Incorporating these cultural moments into the ceremony, whatever your background may be, is such a lovely way to honor your older family members, particularly if these are memories they have from their own celebration.

Hair Combing Ceremony

By the time couples get to their ceremony, they've typically both been up for hours. For the bride, this may start with a hair combing ceremony. "This signifies the transition from girlhood to womanhood and is often attended by close family members," explains Shen."Ceremonial hairpins and combs are made of precious materials and adorned with auspicious symbols. These items are often family heirlooms passed down through generations, symbolizing continuity and familial blessings."

Shen notes that this ceremony is both a symbol of the bride reaching a new life stage, as well as honoring the wisdom of her older family members.

Tea Ceremony

One of the most cherished parts of the Taiwanese wedding day is the tea ceremony, which brings together ancient wedding blessings with a reverence for family. "The tea ceremony is a deeply symbolic and revered tradition in Taiwanese weddings, rooted in Confucian principles of respect, gratitude and honoring family," says Shen.

The couple serves tea to their parents, grandparents and elder family members while receiving blessings for a happy marriage.

Bowing Ceremony

During the ceremony, there are several times where the couple will bow to their family members, but there is one specific ceremony around bowing called the three bows. "This traditional Confucian ritual involves the couple bowing to heaven and earth, their parents and each other as a sign of respect and gratitude," says Shen.

Door Games and Arrival of the Groom

When the groom arrives at the ceremony with his groomsmen, it's tradition to have the bridesmaids challenge them to playful "door games" before allowing them in. "The groom and groomsmen may be greeted with challenges organized by the bridesmaids to test the groom's sincerity and determination to marry the bride," explains Shen. She notes that these could include trivia about the bride, physical challenges like push-ups or even writing a quick love song.

Cup of Harmony

To help seal their marriage, Shen explains that the couple drinks from the Cup of Harmony. "This ritual involves the couple drinking from a cup of wine or tea together. This symbolizes their unity and mutual commitment to sharing joys and sorrows throughout their married life," says Shen.

Taiwanese Wedding Reception Traditions

Similar to weddings from other cultures, the reception is often filled with family members giving speeches, cutting the cake and dancing the night away. But, even when Taiwanese weddings are mostly modern Western-influenced affairs, there are still several elements that can be incorporated easily into the reception.

Red Envelopes

"Guests often give red envelopes containing money as a gesture of goodwill and blessings," says Shen. These red envelopes symbolize good luck, happiness and prosperity for the future, and guests bring them to the reception.

Three Entrances

Chiu explains that there are often three dramatic entrances to the reception. "The first is the grand entrance with the bride in her wedding gown, and the second is the bride in her red dress and gold jewelry from the tea ceremony." The third is the outfit they'll wear in their farewell to their guests.

Dancing and Performances

"Lion dancers and performances are common at Taiwanese American receptions even though they are not necessarily traditional," says Shen. These dancers are an exciting break in the reception that give guests a breather on the dance floor and introduce them to a stunning piece of Taiwanese culture.

Traditional Taiwanese Wedding Food, Drinks and Desserts

Food is an integral part of most traditional weddings, regardless of culture, and the Taiwanese are no exception. They have a carefully planned selection of food and drink that speaks to the elements they want to bring into their marriage.

Wedding Banquet

Shen explains that a traditional Taiwanese wedding banquet includes seafood, poultry, noodles and vegetables all intentionally chosen—nothing is random. "Dishes are carefully selected not only for their flavors but also for their auspicious meanings and cultural symbolism," says Shen. This could include hot and sour soup, braised chicken or duck, and steamed whole fish.

Distilled Spirits

Just like weddings across the world, raising a glass is common at a Taiwanese wedding. Chiu says, "Distilled spirits such as Taiwanese sorghum spirit or rice wine are popular to serve at weddings."

Sweets

"Wedding sweets such as red bean soup or tangyuan (sweet rice balls) may be served to symbolize sweetness and harmony in the marriage," says Shen.

Taiwanese Postwedding Traditions

With the long wedding day almost done, Taiwanese couples have just a few final traditions before they wrap up the day.

Outfit Change and Farewell

"Couples will change into their evening gown for one final entrance and a farewell, then send off each of their guests at the exit. They will take photos with their guests before saying goodbye," says Chiu. She notes that their parents may also be present for this goodbye.

Final Sweet Treat

Nobody will go home without a little treat for the road! Chiu says, "A bonbonniere is given away at the exit."