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Published: September 12th 2009
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Chinese Wedding
September 6, 2009 my husband and I attended John’s wedding party. We woke up so early because it will start at 9am. John rented one BMW car that took them to their new house and 6 Audi for relatives and friends. Here in China man should have a house before he marries. That morning the groom fetched the bride from their house. In a traditional wedding custom, the bride is just waiting inside her room. She wears a white gown (like the wedding dress that we see in the Philippines) but before the groom sees his wife he needs to pass the obstacle. Bride’s family will not permit the groom to enter the house. At the main door the groom’s family is begging the girl’s family to let them in. This looks like a role playing…😱its funny though. Bride’s family will demand money, things, etc. to let them pass the first door. Actually there should be several doors that the groom needs to pass before he sees the bride.
For every door the groom needs to please and provide their demands. John finally saw his wife and tea ceremony was held. John took his wife to
John and rongrong's wedding
back view... I had no chance to take pictures in front. their new house and after resting for an hour, we went to the restaurant for lunch. We occupied two round tables with a capacity of 10 persons each. Varieties of dishes were served and as usual we didn’t eat any rice. In china, especially special occasion does not serve rice. Nanjing is famous for its dried salted duck therefore it’s always on the table. We had variance of vegetables, fruits, chicken, pork, steamed duck cutlets, Longchi carp fish and exotic food like turtle soup and frog. After our lunch we went back to their house and rest. At 3pm we went to this hotel located in the center of Nanjing. The main event happened in this place.
Everyone was busy arranging the wedding place on the 16th floor except me. I can’t speak mandarin and I can’t help them. I stayed in one corner to rest. Andy bought this black shoes that is not really comfortable to wear. I prepared to sit rather than to help them. The guests started to arrive at 6pm and 13 round tables were almost full. I didn’t see anyone who brought gifts. In their tradition giving gift is not popular instead everyone is
bringing a small red envelope with money.
The ceremony started at 7pm and the host introduced the bride and the groom. Both of them were wearing the traditional Chinese red clothes. The bride had a small red garment that covers her face. The couple started to walked on the isle with Chinese music as the background. Two guys laid a brown carpet in front of the couple. They stepped on it and this process continues until they reached the stage. In front, the groom acknowledged to the guest for attending the celebration by a bow. Groom tried to remove the cover on his wife’s face. Brides pretended that she was shy and avoid that her husband might remove the cloth that covers her face. Finally, the groom removed it and revealed his wife’s identity. Everyone clapped and said “gongxi” meaning congratulations.
The host then asked the parents of both groom and bride to go up on stage. I am not sure if I understand what was happening but I think both of their parents are acknowledging their guests and give advice to the new couple. While the ceremony is ongoing, guest may eat. Different dishes were served and
it’s all delicious. They also played a game. The couple was seated in front covered with red cloth. The players have chopsticks and they will throw this to the bride. The sticks have to reach any parts of the bride’s wife and then the groom will tell what part of her body was touched. I actually don’t know who won but everyone who participated got a prize. The couple went to every table and made a toss with their guests. The celebration ends at 9pm. This was a tiring day for me but I didn’t regret that I was here. It was a nice experience. I am still thinking if I will have a wedding party like this.
Did you notice I didn't have any pictures here...well everybody's busy. Nobody dares to help me lol...😊
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