Chinese Weddings

In china, there are many different traditions or customs the bride and groom as well as their own families must perform and respect as to marry one another.

Before…

Before there is even a wedding in the first place, there is somewhat of an engagement process. In China both families have to have approved upon the engagement itself. The groom's family would start off by giving gifts to the bride's family.

Now if both families are in accord with the engagement and the happy couple is well, happy of course, the couple will now seek a fortune teller to help set a date for their wedding. Because the Chinese are really superstitious in many things they would want to find a date that would be lucky for them.

During…

For the bride on the day of their wedding, she must do a couple things before the wedding itself the day of. She would bath in water that is infused with pumelo and a variety of grapefruit. This is done at dawn and this is to cleanse the bride of her evil and negative influences.

The wedding ceremony itself is simple. Here are a couple of things that they must perform during the ceremony itself : The bride and groom are led to the family altar, where both of them pay homage to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors. The bride and groom bow their heads to each other at the altar, they have to drink wine from the same goblet as well signifying their unity as now one.

There is a big feasts that comes after the ceremony. There are separate feasts that are given. One by the groom's side and the other from the bride's before. Then the biggest one is usually given by both the bride and groom's family. It also shows the respect that each family has for one another, working together even before the couple actually starts their new lives together.

After…

A day after the wedding, the bride wakes up at dawn and honors the ancestors. She does this to formally introduce herself to the groom's relatives and friends as they are there with her honoring as well which is a small token or gift the husband`s family.

Here already, it is shown how much a couple put into not only their wedding itself, but the traditions that go with it.