No matter you are planning to marry a Chinese woman for the first time or you are remarrying after a divorce, to a Chinese woman, there are some things that will help you throughout the actual wedding ceremony that you should know in order for things to go smoothly.
Warning: Before I begin with the present-day wedding ceremony customs, I should really mention that there is a lot of mis-information online as to what constitutes the actual modern-day Chinese wedding customs. This is mainly, in part. due to many western based Chinese online dating sites rehashing some very,very old historical Chinese wedding customs, and assuming they are still present in modern-day China. So be careful!
Chinese Wedding Customs Revealed!
Firstly it would be well to know that the actual signing of the marriage certificate doesn't actually take place on the same day as the wedding ceremony itself, it's either signed before (the most common occurrence) or after (less common due to the fact that the wedding certificates, in the form of two small books, are shown to all the guests as legitimacy of the marriage). The wedding ceremony itself lasts about two hours at most, not including the preceding steps.
Here's a breakdown of the entire modern-day Chinese wedding process that holds more or less true across the whole of mainland China with Chinese brides:
1. Groom and grooms family wait at their own house for the arrival of the limousine and motorcade (set of matching cars, black or red being the desired colors), that will transport the family and friends for the day.
2. Groom and grooms family arrive at the brides' house and groom attempts to entice the bride out of her bedroom as brides friends refuse to let her out (Chinese wedding custom).
3. Bride and groom travel in the lead limousine to the new marital home and the fellow family members and close friends follow.
4. Both sides of family and friends view the marital home, husband will have carried his new bride across the threshold.
5. Wedding party proceed in limousines to the wedding ceremony venue, where more guests are present. This usually takes place in a hotel function room.
6. Speeches take place and bride and groom bow to both their parents and also bow to heaven.
7. Guests eat while bride and groom visit the guests tables and drink and smoke with them and also thank them for coming. Guests depart.
You may have noticed there is no mention in the above of a wedding reception where everyone dances and generally has fun, and that would be because traditionally there isn't one! Some small groups of the family may decide to go to a karaoke bar afterwards, but it's not set in stone.
In fact, as all Chinese will tell you, the wedding ceremony is for the benefit and enjoyment of the family and guests and not particularly the bride and groom, who usually will end up exhausted by the end of it, as did I!
Sam C Reeves has lived in China for over eight years and dated a wide variety of Chinese women and also married one. To find out 7 Secrets You Must Know! before dating or marrying a Chinese woman, go to http://ChineseDatingSecrets.com/ and don't find out things the hard and expensive way!
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Source: Ezine