Best wishes

Impressions from my first wedding in China

Very early in the morning, the bride and groom meet up at her parents house, and then at his parents house. There's a small ceremony, eating sweet beans from a bowl and sharing that with relatives.

Tons of firecrackers. Because there are many weddings at the hotel, there's one lady who's permanently sweeping the red paper, and one guy who's permanently shaping hearts out of fire crackers. Next!

The wedding pictures have already been taken some time ago. The album lies on the table for the guests to see.

All the red envelopes are numbered and registered by name in a big book at the entrance. There's another book for wishes. It looks beautiful with the characters.

The four parents are thrilled. This is their day!

The bride and groom sing a song together on stage. Wedding karaoke. Her voice is much better. At some point, they are allowed to kiss. He goes for it for almost a minute.

There's a cute little box on our plate with chocolates. There's a little gift bag with small snacks besides our plate. We all get coupons for big gift bags that we collect when we leave. At the entrance, we get a red envelope with a small bill. At the exit, we also get a red envelope...

The bride changes dresses three times. From white, to red, to blue.

There is enough food for a week. When it is time to leave, the remains are divided over the guests per table. Transparent plastic bags with whole chicken, ducks, but also the bottles of liquor and wine. Two women take out big plastic bags and fill them with empty bottles. A small extra income.

The bride and groom pass at every table to say cheers to the guests. Before they have reached the last table, someone has rolled up the red carpet, and someone else is taking down the purple decorations.

The MC has some small and big gifts for the guests. First they have to play a game and deserve it. Sing along with opera, rund around, say a tongue twister.

All the time, smartphones.