Eat and go!
This evening we were invited to our second Chinese wedding. I’ll admit, the first time I attended a wedding here I found it a bit of an anti-climax and was surprised to see how casual and quick it all was (today we arrived at 5.30 and we leaving by 6.30). However, as I am now getting used to the culture and the people, I can these weddings are another display of the typical Chinese way of doing things; and as with most things here, once you know what to expect it’s easier to enjoy.
You are greeted in a hotel lobby by the bride, bridegroom and the (sort of) maid of honour and best man. The bride is dressed in a Western inspired white wedding dress and on both occasions, the girls have looked absolutely beautiful and so tiny in their dresses. The made of honour and best man stand next to them holding a tray of cigarettes for the men as they arrive, and a tray of sunflower seeds and Chinese candy for everyone else. If a man chooses to take a cigarette, the bride will then light it for him. The hotel lobby is full of round tables and trolleys of food ready for hundreds of guests and children. Everyone sits around tables of eight or ten and pretty much when the food gets to your table you start eating, weather or not anyone else is. This also means by the time one table has started eating, another is getting ready to leave. At first, it was odd to see so many people at a wedding reception in casual clothes. People go straight from work to the wedding in whatever they happened to be wearing that day. My first reaction was that this seemed a little rude and impersonal, but as I get to know the Chinese, I know their way is just to get things done in the quickest and most convenient way possible. Although I still find it a surprise how short the weddings are, with much less attention on the bride and groom, I’m grateful for the experience as these are the things I will remember and tell people about when I’m home.
Just before most people are getting ready to go, the bride will change into a traditional Chinese dress, a qi pao (pronounced chee pow) and walks round to toast every table. Once we had done this, we were literally lifted out of our seats by our arms (another Chinese thing) and ushered to the car, my link teachers hands never leaving my shoulders.
