Note:
25th February, 2003
Most people seem to find this page when searching for wedding dress pictures or dress designs. You could also check out www.vickylai.com, a friend's site for more wedding info. I've also put some related links on as many sections as I could. These links will generally take you to Amazon.com for related books and things.
The Banquet
27th November, 1999
A traditional Chinese wedding is just a banquet at which all of the Bride and Groom's associates eat a selection of symbolic and lucky dishes. These dishes include roast suckling pig, goose feet, pak choy, scallops, shrimp, steamed fish, fried rice and others. Lots of quaffing and toasting goes on.
Our banquet was a family affair for Sandra's family, as my family don't live in Hong Kong.
Related Links: The Chinese Banquet Cookbook: authentic Feasts from China's Regions with 10 Complete Banquets and over 100 Recipes
The Clothes
The Wedding Gown was made by Sandra. The groom's suit
was made by a tailor friend of Sandra, and the high collar style
chosen by me. The preparation for the wedding was an introduction
to the Hong Kong Wedding Industry and a chance for Sandra to meet
old friends. She used to make and sell wedding dresses and still
has many contacts in this often ruthless business. Weddings are a
big money thing in Hong Kong: the more you spend, the luckier your
marriage will be.
Related Links: Golden Plaza, Wedding Centre. Golden Plaza is several floors of wedding shops, tailors, photographers, etc. If you're in HK and you want to see what's what in weddings, go here. It's signed from Prince Edward MTR station.
The Ceremony
Friday, 24th of March, 2000
The ceremony was a typical Hong Kong registry office wedding:
short, sweet and to the point. There were two witness (Paul Williams, my
Best Man, and Tse Leung Chiu, Sandra's father) the justice (Tsang
Sau-Chun) and an assistant, as well as a small audience, of course.
Rest assured that mobile phones were a-ringing all through the
ceremony. Unfortunately they were mine and Sandra's so we couldn't
really complain too much.
As with a Western Ceremony, the wedding rings are exchanged. This is optional, but a nice and symbolic action. Our wedding rings are bi-metallic with white and yellow gold. We'd actually been wearing them since our Chinese Wedding Banquet back in November.
...and the Wedding Certificate signed by both bride and
groom as well as the two witnesses. This is the key point of the
ceremony. They kept referring to Sandra as Mrs O'Brien
from
then on. She usually uses her own name, and Chinese women generally
keep their own family names after marriage.
The Formal Photographs
This is the big group shot taken just outside the
registry office. From left to right at the back: Bill, Paul (the
best man), Annette, Alan, Paul and Rob. Front Row: Foawn (Bill's
Wife), Karen, Me, Sandra, two people whose names are not in
English, Leah, Dave and Zachary (held).
Hong Kong Park is a scenic site. There's a lake with
Koi carp, turtles and swans. There's a tropical greenhouse and two
aviarys. There's an outdoor amphitheatre and plenty of scenic spots
for photography. I'm sure that most of these have some significance
or fortune for a newly married couple. As the registry office is in
the park itself, it's a prime location for wedding photography. We
took some photographs at the bridge below the tropical plant house
which has a waterfall behind it. This is a pretty popular spot for
picture taking after marriages and there's almost a queue of
newlywed couples here. This picture and the registry picture are
our favourite images of the event.
The Reception
The wedding party traipsed the short distance through Hong Kong Park to the Park Inn where the reception began. This was a very informal reception - more of an after work cocktail party for most of the guests. The champagne was opened with minimal casualties apart from a few scared cats and the quaffing began. The champagne was Imperial Court Champagne, a Sino-French venture, and very reasonable indeed.
At the appropriate time in the ceremony, the bride changed from wedding dress to evening gown. The bride changing dress is traditional in most weddings; in some Chinese weddings, the bride will change three or four times during the day. Sandra is here with Eva, a friend.
Note: It is now possible to book weddings in Hong Kong over the internet. You'll need to go to The Hong Kong Government Website and look around for the exact page.