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Trendy Wedding

Wedding ceremonies in China have changed a lot in recent years. So BTM turned to Shi Kangning, general steward of the China Wedding Service Industries Association, to help our readers cope with some of these changes.

Q: What is the biggest difference between Chinese-style and western-style weddings?

A: In a Chinese-style wedding, brides and bridegrooms wear clothes in red signifying fortune, happiness and richness, while in western-style wedding, couples wear white clothes symbolizing romance and holiness.

Q: What is the biggest change in the Chinese people’s wedding ceremony?

A: Couples put less emphasis on eating and on providing a feast for relatives and friends (called “hunyan” in Chinese), and focus more on what delights them. Previously, people liked to imitate others, which meant that they would all go to a hotel or a restaurant to hold a ceremony. People now prefer novel ceremonies, and the more unique, the better.

Q: Describe some “novel” wedding ideas in China?

A: Travelling weddings (the couple travels to celebrate their wedding); weddings held at the foot of the Great Wall or at a mountain, at the seaside or at a river; at villa or a garden; in the air (the couple rides a hot-air balloon); underwater (diving wedding). There are also collective weddings, with as many as 100 couples wedding at the same time. Some young couples hold weddings in a church, for example, at Dongtang on Wangfujing Avenue. Some couples like to experience a traditional Chinese wedding, with the bride sitting in a sedan chair (jiaozi).

Q: What is the most popular kind of wedding ceremony in Beijing?

A: The so-called “Candela” wedding. At the beginning, all the lights in a hall are turned off; pretty young girls or little “angels” with candles in their hands enter the hall in a line and light candles in the midst of bunches of flowers. Under soft lighting and with romantic music, the bride and bridegroom dressed in white kiss each other and exchange rings.