Traditional Chinese Wedding

There is an old saying which derives from Qin (221 BC – 206 BC) Dynasty is that the three most delightful moments in one's life come with success in the imperial examination, marriage and the birth of a son.

In the past thousands years of Chinese culture, a marriage would be strictly decided by the parents' desires. The newlywed haven’t had any clue about who the other side is, what she/he looks like till they enter the bridal chamber at last minute. Matched social status is quite essential to both of the families.

Basically the Proper marriage Procedures are the recognized 'three Letters and six Etiquettes'. The three Letters refers to the Request Letter, the Gift Letter and the Wedding Letter. And the six Etiquettes are Request for Marrying the Bride, Request for Bride and Groom's Birth Dates, Initial Gifts for the Bride's Family, Formal Gifts for the Bride's Family, Select the Wedding Date and Wedding Day. And then followed by the Preparation for the wedding, the Setting up the Bridal Bed, the Bride's Gifts for the Groom, the Combing Hair.

Wedding Day Activities, the bride and groom's homes, gift boxes and everything are decorated in red. Due to red means love joy and prosperity, it is the central to the wedding theme of China.

Wedding Day: picking up the Bride and Bride Arriving at the Groom's Home are the most hilarious parts of the whole wedding process. Then start up the Wedding Banquet, some with the Post Wedding Activities. 3 Days later is the Bride Returning Home procedure.

Modern Chinese Wedding

Ancient-style and church wedding ceremonies have been popular among fashionable young people in recent years. Some couples hold luxury wedding ceremony to show up their status. In some part of China like Hongkong and Shanghai, marriage are often restrained by financial situations. That brings too many guys into financial embarrassment and make them live and work under pressure. There are some people who choose get marry in silence, which means don't hold wedding ceremony, just invite some close friends and relatives for a banquet after get their marriage certifications.

Choosing an auspicious wedding date is still very important for most of the newlywed, they will go and find the answer from the fortune tellers, see which date is ok for them to get marry, which means choose a lucky date, that avoids the unfortunate date meaning that no disaster is predicted if the two get married. The more even numbers the more auspicious, e.g., Saturday, October 28, 2004. Sometimes, people choose date with special meaning, e.g. lunar calendar September 9th is a festival for family reunion, and the Nine means "forever".

Dos and Don'ts at Chinese Wedding

1:The bride should change to her formal shoes when she departs her home, and ascends the car, thus to indicate that she wont take away even the good luck from her parents.

2: The mother-in-law and sister-in-law should not face, watching the bride walk in the door when the bride enters the groom's home. This is to avoid confrontation in the future.

3: Pregnant women and people whose family member just passed away should not participate in the wedding ceremony, nor to touch the newlyweds' clothing or anything in the new home.