A Picture of Wedded Bliss
Chilling out on a sunny day at the beach in China, you can see some children splashing around in the water, maybe a raucous ball game or two between friends and a couple of token foreigners soaking up the rays in the hope of a sun tan. All this seems perfectly normal, in line with the holiday atmosphere. Then, out of the corner of your eye you spot a woman in full white wedding gown and veil standing by the waves, accompanied by a grinning groom in a crisp suit and a manic photographer with a massive camera pushing and pulling the couple into poses every which way…
Most foreigners would probably guess that the happy couple is enjoying a beach wedding. Certainly they have that nervous happy look familiar to brides and grooms across the globe. However, the truth is that their ‘real’ wedding day is, in fact, scheduled for three months later this year. Like many other Chinese couples, they have simply chosen to shoot their wedding album in advance, with multiple costume and location changes to create a catalogue of images of newly wedded bliss. If you look carefully by Chinese churches, waterfalls or other beauty spots you may well spot a couple being photographed for their wedding album. Pictures by the beach in full wedding gear are just one part of the overall package.
While in many Western countries, custom dictates the groom does not see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding to avoid bad luck, in China this habit of visiting a wedding photographer in advance is widespread. Rather than being seen as tempting fate, it is accepted as a practical and essential part of getting married for most modern urban couples. Logically, it does make sense to have some pictures taken in advance, so a pre-approved photo of the happy couple can then be presented to the guests on the wedding day itself.
The ‘picture perfect’ wedding album shot in advance is just one Chinese wedding custom that might surprise or interest people from other countries. Many of China’s old wedding traditions have been adapted to the modern day wedding. For example, in the past a decorated sedan chair would carry the groom to fetch his bride. Nowadays friends decorate a car which is used for the same purpose. The wedding banquet is now most likely to be held in a hotel or fancy restaurant, but as tradition dictates this meal remains the centre of all the wedding celebrations. Often there are more than hundred guests and several courses. Superstition dictates that certain foods must be served, such as fish because the pronunciation of this word in Chinese is the same as the pronunciation for the word “abundance”, which means that the newly weds will have plentiful wealth.
The actual civil ceremony of marriage in China consists of registering the marriage with the local registrar and is usually swiftly done without too much fuss or ceremony. The closest Chinese ritual to the idea of saying wedding vows is probably when the newly weds drink wine from two cups tied together by a red string to demonstrate their binding commitment. The focus of wedding preparations is on an elaborate and complex reception. Chinese culture traditionally considered marriage as the joining of two families, and today the couple’s parents are still involved in the planning from early on. The family pick an auspicious date for the wedding: the Spring Festival and other modern festivals are popular choices, as well as other traditional ‘lucky days’ in the Chinese calendar.
