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  • Day 7

    Wedding Day

    September 25, 2018 in China ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The big day finally arrived. It was a grand occasion; busy, hectic and lively from start to finish. We started off in the hotel around 8am, in the elaborately decorated room of the bride and groom for an extensive photo shoot.

    By around 9.30, we filed into wedding cars to be transported to Yuans parents apartment complex. On arrival, we were greeted by a spectacular dancing dragon show. After arrival in the apartment, the Mallegrom family was invited to a brunch feed with Yuans family.. and many more photos were taken.

    Then, back into cars and off to the wedding venue. There, we were greeted again not only by dragons but a vehicle with what looked like rocket launchers on its room that would deafen us all with a relentless barrage of fireworks.

    The wedding was set up for around 300 people.. and once the red envelopes had been handed over, we were ushered into the venue proper. It appeared some Chinese relatives had tried to steal our table, but once that was rectified, we were seated to await the commencement of proceedings.

    Food flowed before cutlery, just piled plate on top of plate. Nothing was ever cleared, as beer cans, peanut shells and litter soon cluttered and piled up on table and floor alike. The wedding ceremony was preceded by a few acts of singing, violin, harp, drums and flute before we got underway just after noon.

    The compromised and somewhat disjointed ceremony was largely effective and flowed without too much incident. My dad made the effort of memorizing his speech in Chinese to surprise the bride and groom. Sadly, perhaps 50 or less of the 300 attendees cared or even paid any attention, many talking loudly, drinking or feasting. Most didnt clap or stand when prompted via translation.

    The final touches of the wedding were a lovely coming together of the happy couple. Surprisingly, minutes upon conclusion of the official ceremony, 80% of the crowd trampled each other for the door, leaving a trashed garbage dump behind. By 2.30pm the venue was mostly empty. A few friends and family remained to toast the happy couple and enjoy some drinks; beer, red wine or "white wine" (45% spirit). I wasn't a fan of any.

    In time, drinking escalated and my parents and I opted to head back to the hotel. A couple of us went for an evening walk for a late dinner. Overall, the wedding was certainly memorable and different. It was a pleasure to be there for my brother and nice to see the bride and groom enjoy themselves so.

    Tomorrow is my last full day here. I think we have a bbq afternoons meal planned in a more rural setting.
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