On May 30th, we were guests at a traditional Chinese Wedding for one of Xinli’s relatives. The wedding was held in a hotel banquet room in Huangshan, only about ten minutes away from where we were staying. When we walked into the hotel lobby, we were warmly greeted by the bride in groom at the front door. The wedding ceremony was scheduled to start at 5:38 pm (the number 8 is a lucky number in China). Since the ceremony was running a bit behind schedule, my table began digging into the dinner which featured turtle and jellyfish. The atmosphere of the wedding seemed a bit more casual than American weddings since we were sitting at a dinner table for the ceremony, but the decor was bold, and almost everything was a ruby red color.

I was a bit nervous about the dress code for this event because I had heard that wearing certain colors were frowned upon. The colors black and white, which are symbolic of funerals and sadness, are to be avoided at Chinese weddings. The bride wears red, representing luck, happiness and good fortune. Guests who wear red may be accused of “trying to steal the bride’s spotlight”. Nonetheless, I played it safe with an emerald green dress, and was surprised to see that many of the other guests were wearing much more casual attire than a suit and tie. The groom was wearing an intricate black and red suit, and he had what looked like a red bow across his body. The bride was wearing a detailed red outfit and her face was concealed by a thick, red veil. Once the bride and groom were on the main stage, the groom removed the bride’s veil to reveal a gold headdress.

Once the ceremony had started, it was hard to keep track of what exactly was going on since it consisted of so many foreign practices. I was surprised to see that the parents of both the bride and groom were brought onto the stage during the ceremony to show respect, and actually played a role in the ceremony. The bride and groom did not kiss, but they did share a shot of rice liquor together. I remember asking Xiang, a Chinese student in the program, “Are they married yet?” at one random point during the ceremony and he said “yes”. I was caught off guard since there was no cheering or change of facial expression that would indicate such an important moment. Although the wedding was hard to follow at times, I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to attend such a diverse ceremony.