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"In a traditional Hmong wedding, a black umbrella is present from start to end and holds significant value. The black umbrella is used to protect the bride and groom from any bad luck, evil spirits, and anything that may occur during their journey to the bride's home for the wedding."
Resource: ttp://www.wipps.org/BTS/courtship_subpages/Q_and_A.html
It all started because of my sister.... of course!
In April 2012, my sister, Mee, and brother-in-law, Johnny, decided to get married. My parents held a traditional Hmong wedding ceremony for them with a mix of Westernized details. Mee was the first person in our family to get married - so as you can only imagine - my family and I were running around like crazy chicken as we gathered up every creative bone in our bodies to give them both a beautiful day to remember.
Being the oldest daughter, I wanted to make sure my little sister had at least a wedding cake. Originally, I wanted to make the cake myself (thanks to Cake Boss - haha), but being that we rarely ever bake, my dad had disconnected our oven and my mom had been using it as storage space for her over sized woks. (Seriously! Lol). After doing a lot of research, my sister, Bao, and I decided to leave the cake to the professionals as we focused on other tasks at hand.
Still thinking of the cake, I wanted to make sure some component of "Hmong" was included in the details, so randomly one night, I Googled "Hmong cake toppers." A lot of creative ideas came up, but being the picky person that I am, none really caught my attention. So what did I do? I did what any determined sister with would do - I decided to make the cake topper myself.
It was the middle of the night when I mustered up some paint and supplies I had in storage. After spending a few hours sketching ideas, I finally came up with the the final product of what I had been envisioning. When the day of the wedding came, my sister absolutely loved the cake topper and kept telling me thank you over and over again. As an older sister, it brought me a lot of joy to see my little sister so happy.
Since then, I have made a few cake toppers for family and friends by request. After receiving positive feedback and picking the brain of several geniuses. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and make the cake toppers available to the public -- and so, The Black Umbrella was created.
In April 2012, my sister, Mee, and brother-in-law, Johnny, decided to get married. My parents held a traditional Hmong wedding ceremony for them with a mix of Westernized details. Mee was the first person in our family to get married - so as you can only imagine - my family and I were running around like crazy chicken as we gathered up every creative bone in our bodies to give them both a beautiful day to remember.
Being the oldest daughter, I wanted to make sure my little sister had at least a wedding cake. Originally, I wanted to make the cake myself (thanks to Cake Boss - haha), but being that we rarely ever bake, my dad had disconnected our oven and my mom had been using it as storage space for her over sized woks. (Seriously! Lol). After doing a lot of research, my sister, Bao, and I decided to leave the cake to the professionals as we focused on other tasks at hand.
Still thinking of the cake, I wanted to make sure some component of "Hmong" was included in the details, so randomly one night, I Googled "Hmong cake toppers." A lot of creative ideas came up, but being the picky person that I am, none really caught my attention. So what did I do? I did what any determined sister with would do - I decided to make the cake topper myself.
It was the middle of the night when I mustered up some paint and supplies I had in storage. After spending a few hours sketching ideas, I finally came up with the the final product of what I had been envisioning. When the day of the wedding came, my sister absolutely loved the cake topper and kept telling me thank you over and over again. As an older sister, it brought me a lot of joy to see my little sister so happy.
Since then, I have made a few cake toppers for family and friends by request. After receiving positive feedback and picking the brain of several geniuses. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and make the cake toppers available to the public -- and so, The Black Umbrella was created.
