Until I was invited to a Chinese wedding I had no idea how different they were to weddings from a western background. My friend Jiao from work had invited our whole team to the ceremony and although her husband is from a Christian background she wanted to include some Chinese rituals.
In Chinese culture they are very family orientated and both families are very much involved from the start for the preparation of the wedding. Jiao had said she was lucky as both parties were happy to be involved and respected their wishes to combine the wedding with both Chinese and Christian elements.
Apparently the wedding date is very important and it is better to choose an even number. The more even the number the more goodwill for the marriage so I suspect that is why they got married on February 14th 2008. Some couples will choose special days with meanings too so this will bring them extra luck.
The excitement and endless lists for a Chinese wedding is very much similar to that of a Western wedding. Jiao had a fabulous hen night which was organised by her sister and best friend. The event was held at her family’s restaurant – it had been taken over for the night for this big event. I was in my element as I love Chinese food and there were plenty of it. And in true traditional Chinese style we all did karaoke. When I say “all” what I meant was we all had to fight for the microphone! It was very amusing how one minute we can be running in the other direction of the microphone and then after a few wines we thought we were auditioning for the X Factor.
Presents for the bride and groom usually consist of money and lots of it!! So I stuck to the tradition I presented my gift in a red envelope and it was quite funny to see all the guests arrive with the same gift. At least the married couple would get no nasty surprises and 5 different toasters or kettles.
On the actual day the reception was brightly decorated and was overtaken by the colour of red. In China this represents happiness so there were lets of banners to symbolise this. The official ceremony is very similar to that of a western wedding. The happy couple did their wedding vows and then they carried out their own Chinese wedding ritual. The couple had to kneel three times – this was once to the heaven and earth, to their parents and then to each other.
Before the actual ceremony the bride goes to the groom’s house this is known as the ‘Tea ceremony’ and Jiao in her role as the bride gave tea to her parents and relatives. In receipt of the tea her family gave her presents which were wrapped in red decoration. Once this was done it was time for the wedding banquet where there were lots of luxurious foods, some which had to be laid as they represent different things at a Chinese wedding.
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