This Couple Included a Chinese Tea Ceremony in Their Lakeside Wedding in Howell, Michigan

Cherry and Ben can usually be found on an adventure. After meeting through a mutual friend who called Cherry “probably crazy enough” to go with Ben on a skydiving trip, the pair continued to break new ground. To channel their venturesome personalities, the couple decided to invite friends and family from around the world on a nature-filled journey to Michigan’s Camp Talahi for their wedding. Cherry and Ben guided guests with illustrated watercolor maps and made sure to mark each person’s favor with a tag stating just how far they’d traveled to get to camp. As guests sat down to dinner, “it hit me that all these people from all over the world traveled all this way to be here, under the same tent, for Ben and me,” Cherry says. “I felt extremely lucky to have everyone.” While a groomsman built the ceremony arch, another friend lent Cherry and Ben the 36 flower pots that lined their aisle. To fill the bright bouquets and arrangements, Cherry and Ben plucked wildflowers from a close friend’s garden. Because the right food was “top priority,” Cherry says, the couple decided to skip wedding cake in order to promote their favorite local snacks: Dimo’s doughnuts and bite-size desserts.  Throughout the weekend, guests set sail on their own adventures in the campground’s canoes and paddle boats before Ben and Cherry danced to “How Far I’ll Go” from Disney’s Moana.  For Cherry, the Chinese tea ceremony was one of the most important parts of the day and another way to honor her heritage. Cherry and Ben “knelt and gave tea to the respected members of our family in return for our blessings,” Cherry says. “It was truly special and a beautiful ceremony.”