Chinese Wedding Traditions

I had the luxury of attending another wedding on Saturday. What a terrible day to get married, it must have rained 3 inches in an hour. I was drenched by the time I got home. This was the first Chinese wedding banquet I have ever attended and I learned a lot from it.

For example, in the Chinese culture the groom or the groom’s family is suppose to pay for the entire cost of the wedding, and the cash gifts that are received are meant to help pay for the wedding. The bride’s family gets to keep all the gifts from their guests. In a way this is like a dowry. Women are suppose to live and care for the groom’s family, so the groom’s family needs to pay the dowry not the other way around. They have a tea ceremony, and the couple receives gifts of cash and gold in front of the entire banquet hall. They announce exactly what is being given by whom. (Cheapness is really frowned upon) My friend said the bride looked like she was being choked under all that gold.

I for one, would like an Indian wedding where my groom arrives on horseback with a sword in tow.