Weddings
Weddings from Around the World
Add some spice to your ‘I do’ with an exotic wedding theme.
Chinese
Instead of all the stress and non-stop planning of most North American weddings, imagine having your marriage cleared from all bad luck and getting gifts of jewelry from the groom – all as part of your wedding prep! These are just some of the perks of a Chinese wedding, which traditionally includes “six etiquettes” – the formal proposal (nacai), the matching and blessing of the bride and groom birthdates (wenming and naji), sending and receiving gifts between the bride and groom (nazheng), choosing the ideal “lucky” wedding date (qingqi) and the wedding ceremony (qinying).
If you’re looking for a complete departure from the white ball gown wedding dress, then you’ll be excited by the red silk Chinese bridal dress, called the kwàhn kwáa. Adorned with floral images and embroidered dragons and phoenix, it’s a standout piece that’s still more manageable than a poofy gown. The bride truly is the centre of attention, with the ceremony room and wedding favors matching her dress, decorated in red and with images of dragons and phoenix.
A Modern Take on the Traditional Chinese Dress
As my friend Charmaine explains, you can’t include all the fabulous customs on your big day, so you’ll want to select one or two elements or ceremonies to match your wedding vision.
“We will likely have a Chinese tea ceremony. It’s very important to pour tea for our elders and loved ones. (We would) alternate between serving the grooms side and brides side (and) receive red pockets – called ‘Lai see’ – upon serving the tea. It means older generations (are) passing on their luck.”
Sarah Uibel
This is inspiring me to not only find a husband but to get married in multiple countries! lol
Guess I need to find a man first. One can dream : )
Brana Dane
Wow… Such amazingly interesting rituals.
The cutest I feel is welcoming the Groom with Almonds dipped in Honey, according to Greek wedding traditions!!
I personally love colorful Indian Weddings.
A friend of mine once attended a wedding in India. It was a wedding in the state of Bengal. I was mesmerized when I saw the wedding pictures.
A wedding in itself is such a beautiful event and all these different rituals from different cultures, make wedding an even more heart warming.
Jude Vargas
Weddings are love. I just love attending events like this. And watching one, too! Be it in the movies, reality tv shows or just attending a plain classic wedding of a friend. This article showed me different traditions in holding a wedding ceremony. It might actually not be a bad idea to suggest to friends to hold traditional weddings… Hmmm.. 😀
Zenab Bello-Osagie
I absolutely love that Urbanette is all about being unconventional and breaking moulds. Integrating inspiration from around the world is such a great idea!
Langley Fox
I love weddings that are unconventional and use influences from multiple cultures. When I get married, I’m going to use some of these ideas. Maybe I’ll do my own henna illustrations.
Lyndsi LaRose
I adore the Iranian sugar tradition and the henna skin decorations. So charming. @Tinsley – great idea! Silver or gold would look stunning!
Tinsley Mortimer
I love the Henna one — so pretty! You could do it in gold or silver metallic… would be so glam!