New Sister
On Saturday, we attended my brother-in-law’s wedding… This wedding started early — 5:30 am for some of the girls — mostly because the girls had to be ready by 9 am for the “door games” where the guys in the wedding party have to negotiate with the bridesmaids for the bride. The bribe? Some money, cake, tea, and a whole roast pig. Once the bridesmaids allow the groom to enter the house, there’s a tea ceremony for the bride’s family — the bride and groom serve tea to the elders in exchange for gifts…
The Bride’s Bouquet, fresh from the florist
…and the bridesmaid’s flowers
The Best Man, Simon, and my DH waiting outside the Bride’s front door, gifts in hand.
Alex making a $20 bid for Nancy (yeah, it was later rejected!)
One of the bridemaid’s obstacles: all the guys in the wedding party have to drink something that represents sweet, salty, bitter, and sour — those things that are part of every marriage. Alex got the bitter glass.
The conspiring bridesmaids
That would be the roast pig.
And that would be Nancy’s relatives hacking up the pig to keep the best part (the head and tail are sent back to the groom’s house).
“Double Happiness” oranges
Tea for the cermony at the groom’s house
Yes, there were orchids decorating the church pews too.
And there’s Nancy, my new sis-in-law, with her father and mother…
The cake being set up…
The happy couple, Alex and Nancy.
I wanna make a sweater... pouts
As always, gorgeous photos. Interestingly, it’s also a Russian tradition to bargain for the bride. Except it’s typically the bride’s brother or male cousin who’s on the receiving end of the bribe :).
What a wonderful wedding, beautiful bride and handsome groom! Congratulations!
Stunning pictures! The ceremony looks beautiful. I just can’t stop looking at the pictures.
Beautiful wedding! It looked like a lot of fun.
What a gorgeous wedding! Congratulations on having your new sister!
what wonderful gorgeous photos! what a beautiful couple!
beautiful pictures! sounds like a fun wedding!
Gorgeous photographs - as always! Your lighting is always so beautiful - Do you use a flash inside at all?
Thanks for sharing the traditions with us - I had never heard of bargaining for the bride.
Love the pig - and especially the oranges.
What a beautiful bride! Gorgeous pictures, too!
Oh what gorgeous pictures. Sounds like a very beautiful ceremony and traditions to boot.
Beautiful, beautiful wedding photos! Love the bribing tradition. Sounds like a lot of fun.
I love the cultural highlights! I have attended 2 weddings where the bride was Chinese (well, Chinese-American), and it’s always so cool to see what is done. Love the “garbage bag” apron during the pig-hacking scene!
The pictures are beautiful…I’m in love with the colors and the bride’s dress.
I could spend all day gazing at these amazing pictures. What a wonderful, special ceremony. Perfection. Congrats to the happy couple.
Your photos are gorgeous!
It looks like it was a very special day for your family. Everything looks so beautiful . Stunning photographs. Congrats to the happy couple!
I twelfth everyone! Beautiful, beautiful photos. I have a sneaking suspicion that yours will outshine all the other wedding photos! I love the story you told with the photos too. I’ve never been to a Chinese wedding, so it was nice to see!
What beautiful photographs! (Though the roast pig did make my vegetarian stomach do a bit of a lurch)
A handsome couple. I learn so much from your blog. The bouquet, lovely. The cake, decadent. The wedding party, beautiful. Congratulations.
gorgeous day, gorgeous photos. felicia, your images are amazing. what type of camera do you use?
What beautiful pictures!! And such a lovely wedding and bride
That cake is amazing too btw!
As always, amazing photos. I’m blown away. A beautiful couple. Hope they have a wonderful life together and fit into your family well…
awww, i love me a good wedding! beautiful pics and everyone looks so happy. it was fun to read about chinese traditions as well!
Really beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful wedding!!
What a gorgeous wedding and wonderful photos. I bet they’re happy you brought your camera!
Congratulations to them both.
What gorgeous pictures!!!
Lovely photos. A very beautiful tribute to them, Felicia! That cake is stunning–I love that argyle pattern on it
Oh, happy day. Beautiful!!
What an adorable couple and beautiful wedding. Your photographs are stunning. Thanks for sharing the traditions as well.
Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures. I love seeing those Asian traditions because I don’t get to see enough of them where I live.
Oh how beautiful and what a lovely day! I think the ceramony is fascinating! What a beautiful way to begin their lives together. Thanks for sharing such beautiful photos!
As always your pictures are perfect.. As i am from an advertising background - so is my ch?©ri - i showed him your site the other day.. you should win the best blog award one of these days. !!! Now i have to find out in your archives what is the board you are using for your blocking - you sent it to me by email once, but I deleted it by mistake - hmmm ! have a good - and better - week than last’s
As usual, the photos are stunning! And I like to ‘collect’ wedding traditions, thanks for adding that! Congratulations on the new family!
Great wedding - I love the photos. And the cake.
Awesome photos! And I’m thrilled to read that the wedding customs are so similar eventhough you are half way across the globe! Congrats!
Lovely flowers, beautiful cake, magnificient pictures, handsome couple, This is truly a piece of master artwork! Congratulations to you the Design Artist.
lovely, thank you for sharing
these photos are simply lovely …
felicia, you are going to have to teach me how to make my camera do wonderful things like yours.
lovely photos and everyone looks so happy.
I always leave the same comment, but gorgeous, gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing that with us. I just made an OSW and you’re going to love it … and I bet the tiny one would be perfect for a little girl (or a bigger little girl) in your life.
Thank you sooo much for sharing these wonderful photos full of love and hapiness. Blessings to all!
Yikes…nothing left to say other than ditto all the above. Except…..”I really wish I’d been there”.
Joy to all.
Amazing photos. It looks like a lovely wedding.
Usually I am disappointed when I check my list of blogs and there is not a new posting, but your photos of the wedding are so beautiful that I did not mind looking at them again.
I’m going to chime in and just say for the 49th time what everyone else has said - gorgeous photography.
You really take incredible photographs! The florals are as interesting as the wedding pictures. I love looking over your blog!
Congratulations to the happy couple. They have a sweet wedding and will have a sweet future forever!