Saying ‘I Do’ – The Chinese Way

My second post on the theme – Occasions’, I have chosen weddings. Weddings across India differ from state to state and even within a state.

Today I am not going to elaborate on an Indian wedding, but on  Chinese wedding reception. I am not in a position to cook anything from the Chinese Wedding banquet. The main reason being almost all the dishes are meat based .

But this post will surely give an insight to the food served in the weddings that hold a special significance.

I have lived in China for almost 5 years. This country holds a special place in my heart. This was the place I started my new home and it was my first destination abroad.The city in which we lived was not too large or congested. It was just right.We loved the place.

What I enjoyed the most were the invitations to the weddings and the friends get together parties. The Chinese weddings are totally different from my the ones in my culture and it was a great experience being a part of the wedding celebrations.

Though a friend, I came to know about the various rituals and symbolism in their wedding.In this post i wish to share what I learnt from her.

Hubby dear’s Chinese colleagues often invited us to their weddings or those of their relatives.

I still remember the first wedding reception that we attended. This was almost as soon as we landed in China and we were eager to have a look at their customs and sort of compare it with our’s!.We were newly weds then!! .

Since the proceedings were in Chinese we could not follow it and we sought the help of another Chinese friend who neither got tired of translating the events nor did she mind answering our numerous questions!

Over the years after attending more than a dozen weddings, now i know the flow of the events…

So, here is what happens in the wedding reception ….Read on…..

The wedding colour, it is quite standard: Red.

Red is central to the wedding theme of China . It signifies love, joy and prosperity and is used in a variety of ways in Chinese wedding traditions. The bride’s wedding gown is often red, as are the wedding invitations, and wedding gift boxes or envelopes for cash gifts.

 Even the bride and groom’s homes are decorated in red on the wedding day.

Before the party, most of the time the new couple will stand at the front door of the restaurant or hotel and receive the guest and thank everyone for coming. A big photo of the couple is also placed at the entrance of the hotel / reception centre.

Usually, people who come to the wedding party will give the new couple some money that is called “Hong Bao”. When almost everyone comes, the party begins.

A welcoming speech is usually performed by an MC who is hired for the occasion. The Bride and Groom are on stage and take the wedding vows and exchange rings….

For the first part of the ceremony the bride wears white or pink dress.

Some customs in their wedding…

Pouring wine trough the glasses to symbolism that love will over flow in their wedding….

The arrangement will look like this.The wine is poured by the couple from the top.It overflows into the next cup till it reaches the bottom….

After exchanging the wedding rigs. the couple change their attire to the traditional one for the feast.The couple go to each table and thank the guests…

Before going on to the food part of the wedding, here re a few clicks that were taking at various weddings. They do spend a lot on the decor…

The stage…

The guest table…

The path leading to the stage through which the bride walks through…

This is my fried -Ju’s wedding reception decor…

The wedding banquet is probably the part of the tradition that has been very well kept. In the modern Chinese society, the wedding feast is considered to be very important. Traditionally, the groom will pay for everything but nowadays, some young couples will offer to pay for themselves.This is the most expensive part of the wedding.

During the feast, the guests are seated in round tables and seating plans are made in order to avoid guests not knowing each other being seated at the same table.

Name cards are placed on the tables…They are red in color too…

The food is of utmost importance to Chinese and in most cases only delicacies are served.

Chinese food has special symbolism: mostly wishes of happiness, longevity, or fertility. The number of courses is also significant

The wedding banquet starts with appetisers such as cold plates which consist of various sliced meats, greens, beans and various types of nuts, served chilled.

My favorite and one of the few that I can eat…Sweet jujubes…

Cold cucumber salad

Cold seafood

Lightly sauteed mushrooms

A cold dish spread in one of the weddings…

And the main and cold dish spread in yet another wedding…

Here are some of the main dishes served in the banquet….

Roast Pig– Roasted pork is a symbol of virginity.

Peking Duck and Lobster – Red is the color for happiness, so serving Peking duck and lobster would signify joy and celebration. [Peking duck is very famous.]

Serving fried chicken and duck would wish the couple to have a good life because in Chinese “red chicken” sounds like “good life.”

Crab Claws– serving the dish whole, i.e. with the head and legs, would symbolize completeness.I managed to click this one!!

Vegetables with Sea Cucumber– Serving sea cucumber with vegetables is a sign of selflessness because “sea cucumber” sounds like “”good heart” and this dish wishes the couple to think in a similar way – to avoid conflict.


Fish– Serving fish would hope that the couple will experience a life together with abundance because “fish”” sounds like “plentiful” in Chinese.

Sweet Red Bean Soup and Sweet Buns- Serving dessert probably wishes the newlyweds a sweet life. The hot sweet red bean soup contain lotus seeds and a bark-like vegetable to wish the newlyweds a hundred years of togetherness. The sweet lotus paste in sweetened steamed bread symbolizes fertility;

The sweet sticky dumpling, covered with crushed peanuts/sesame seeds with sesame paste in the center is also served.

Noodles -served at the end would symbolize longevity because noodles come in long strands. [They are indispensable at Chinese birthday parties as well]

Apart from these main dishes fresh fruits and other dishes are served.

Alcohol, is almost always present at a Chinese wedding banquet [Red /white wine]. Alcohol is served to celebrate the special occasion. If one does not wish to take alcohol, fruit juice is served.

A wedding toast is given. This is similar to the clinking of glasses in the Western culture. The bride and groom and the parents go from one table to another to thank everybody. Musical entertainment is present. The friends of the bride or groom or relative usually sing on stage.

As the time draws near for the guests to leave, the parents & the couple stand in line at the door to thank the guests and wish them well as they leave. They also distribute cigarettes to the guests as they leave.

On each table and for each guest pouches of sweets are placed.Here are a few…

This one is from the first wedding that we attended…

And another one….

When we came home after attending the first Chinese wedding we compared it to our wedding. Our’s was an elaborate one just like any other South Indian wedding .We wished our’s was as simple as this one but that thought vanished when we realized that each culture has a uniqueness and it is not fair to compare!!!!

I will be back with loads of food for another occasion…