Chinese wedding culture is an important part of Chinese traditional customs. Although modern people absorbed a lot of customs from the western wedding, there are still a lot of traditional Chinese wedding customs reserved. Let's learn 12 interesting facts about Chinese Weddings!

1.Take Wedding Pictures Before the Wedding Ceremony

Unlike western weddings, Chinese couples always take wedding pictures prior to the wedding ceremony. If you travel to some picturesque sights in China, it’s quite common to see couples taking their wedding pictures. They usually hire a professional Wedding Photo Studio that will take charge of everything, including the makeup, costumes, photo shooting sites, photographs shooting, and photo retouching. Those wedding pictures will be presented at the wedding ceremony.

2.Obtain Marriage Certificate

The marriage certificate is the legal document to show that a couple is officially married. Once people obtained this certificate in the civil affairs bureau, their marriage is protected by law. Some couples obtain the marriage certificate before the wedding ceremony, while others prefer later. Most Chinese people think a great deal about the wedding ceremony. However, with the improvement of living conditions, more and more young generations began to simplify the wedding ceremonies. They even skip the ceremony to get their marriage legalized at the bureau.

3.Red Envelope (Cash Gift)

To attend a Chinese wedding, a red envelope (gift money) is indispensable. The amount of gift money depends on the guest's financial situation and his relationship with the bride or the bridegroom. A close friend or relative may be willing to offer more, while a not-so-close guest doesn't have to. Nevertheless, the gift money is better to be an even number and in hundreds. In some places, the gift money with 6, 8, and 9 are preferred.
The gift money can be received by the bride or bridegroom, or someone else appointed in charge of gift money. If the bride or bridegroom receives the gift money, he or she must receive it with both hands and take pictures with the giver. If the appointed person receives the gift money, the guest just needs to give him/her and let the recorder know how much he offered.

4.Collecting the Bride

In the morning of the wedding day, the bridegroom will bring his best men to the bride's house and collect his bride. This process can be very interesting. The bridesmaids will set up a series of troubles to stop the bride from entering the bride's room. They will block the doors and keep the bridegroom out until the groom and his best men offer gift money or satisfy the wishes of the bridesmaids, which can be quite crazy and funny. No matter how hard the bride's girlfriends are, the bridegroom must keep a happy mood. Otherwise, the rest of the wedding ceremony will be affected. In most cases, the newly-weds will make plans in advance so that everything won’t go out of line.

5.Tea Offering Ceremony in Chinese Wedding

When the groom finally makes it into the bride's room, he will take the bride to complete the tea offering ceremony. The bride's parents will sit on chairs side by side, while the couple will kneel before them and offer tea. This is called the Tea Offering Ceremony. The bridegroom will offer the first cup of tea to his father-in-law and change the appellation from uncle to father, and then offer the second cup of tea to his mother-in-law and change the appellation from aunt to mother. The bride will also offer tea to her parents. After the tea offering ceremony, the couple will have some sweet soup added with peanuts, lotus seeds, and honey dates, in hope of having a child soon. Next, the couple will go to the bridegroom's house and offer tea to his parents. The bride will also change the appellations of her future parents-in-law.

6.Get into the Wedding Car

How to come out of the bride's room is different in different places. In some places, the bridegroom has to carry the bride on his back, while in some places, he has to lift the bride in his arms. There must be someone, be it a bridesmaid or a senior woman, who holds a red or black umbrella and escort the bride to the wedding car. In some places, the bride also has to have sweet soup balls with her parents and girlfriends to indicate the separation.
Before the bride enters the car, a fan on a tea tray will be offered to her by a little boy. In return, the bride will reward the boy with two red envelopes attached with small fans as thanks gifts. With the wedding car started, the bride will toss the fan out of the window, symbolizing that her bad tempers are tossed out and won't be brought to her husband's family. The little boy who offered the fan will pick it up and return to the bride's family, and be rewarded with red envelopes. When the wedding car goes a little far, the bride's family will set off firecrackers.

7.Entering Bridegroom’s House

It refers to the process of the bride officially entering the groom's house. The bride must cross the threshold. It's believed that if she steps on the threshold, bad luck will come to the family.

8.Shower Confetti

At the wedding ceremony, people always laugh and throw the colorful confetti into the sky and at the newly-weds. This tradition comes from Italy. In the middle ages, Italians used to throw all kinds of colorful small candies to the bride and groom, wishing them a sweet and happy life. In the 19th century, the candies were replaced with colorful confetti.

9.Wedding Reception

As most people nowadays hold the wedding ceremony in the hotel, people who attend the wedding just need to follow the instructions of the host. However, in many rural areas, people still have the wedding ceremony at their home. People attending the wedding may not have an usher for help. In this case, sitting with someone familiar would be good. Be careful not to sit at the newly-weds’ table or their parents' table. With the banquet beginning, the bride and groom will go to each table and toast. People who don't drink can have a cup of beverage while offering their blessings.

10.Enter the Bridal Chamber

The newly-weds will sit together on a chair covered with the groom's trousers, which means that the newly-weds will devotedly live together. On the wedding day, nobody is allowed to sit on the newly-weds' bed. The bride can not lie down on the bed to avoid falling sick on the bed all year round. Besides, an underage boy will be asked to roll on the bed the night before the wedding, and Chinese dates, longan, and peanuts will be put on the bed, in hope of the bride and groom having a child early.

11.Celebrate the wedding in the bridal chamber

Since ancient times, Chinese people celebrated weddings in the bride's chamber. It's mostly the newly-weds' friends and relatives come at night and help the bride and groom to break down the reserve and render the mood. People will design all kinds of small games to tease the newly-weds. Usually, the groom is likely to be teased the most. Sometimes, things can go out of control. Therefore, the custom is gradually deserted.

12.Newly-weds Return to Visit the Bride’s Parents

The bride returning to her parents' house is a custom of the Han people. The returning time varies in different areas, but mostly the third day after the wedding. The groom needs to prepare gifts to express his gratitude to his parents-in-law.

For modern Chinese families who still value the traditional Chinese culture and the wedding ceremony is always a lifetime event. A good wedding ceremony is especially important to the future life of the newly-weds. Only after the 12 facts listed are perfectly arranged, one's wedding is officially complete.

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