Chinese Weddings

Wedding Season has arrived.  One of my favorite times of year and I have to say Brides and Grooms here in China do it up right!  We were fortunate enough to attend a wedding here at the beginning of the month.  Our driver, Mr. Neil, married his beautiful bride, Liu Mao Xing.  We had an absolute blast celebrating with his family and friends.  I personally loved all the local cuisine we were treated to and everyone made us feel so very welcome.

The wedding itself was a bit different than what we see in the US.  For instance, it's a loud exciting time as the bride and groom enter the room.  They exchange quick vows and exit.  The guests begin to eat and then the happy couple shows up again to give 'Thanksgiving' to their family and friends.  Once again, they exit only to return some time later to toast each guest before we leave. Though different, I found common ground with all these people who I did not know and who I could not communicate with through language (my Chinese is terrible), but we all came together for LOVE.  We met some very interesting people and shared a ton of laughs.  I think, by far, this was one of my most favorite memories I've made this first year here.

Here in Shanghai it seems to be a custom to have photos taken before the wedding and then those photos are shown throughout the evening at the actual event.  Lately, it's been fun to see brides around the city getting their portraits taken (usually around the Bund area - a beautiful spot for pictures).  Many are in white wedding dresses, but I especially love seeing them in their bright, Chinese red ensembles.  Below are a few photos that Mr. Neil was nice enough to share with me.  Simply Beautiful!
(Mr. Neil shared these photos with me, so I do not have the photographer's name to give credit.  Will find out soon...)