Wedding Arrangements

• In a traditional Chinese wedding, the groom's parents use a matchmaker or other go-between to contact the bride's parents. Letters are also sometimes used. If the bride's parents accept the proposal, then the two families exchange the couple's birth dates and times on paper and both are placed on the ancestral altar. If nothing bad or unlucky happens in three days, then the bride and groom's families meet to evaluate each other and exchange gifts if the wedding is to proceed. They then consult a fortune-teller to decide the best date for a wedding. Using fortune-telling to determine the compatibility of the bride and groom and to decide on the best date for a wedding are still important parts of modern weddings.
  
  

Wedding Clothing

• Red is an important color in a traditional Chinese wedding, representing love, prosperity and happiness. Everything in the wedding can be red, including the invitations and decorations. The bride also traditionally wears red. Traditionally, the bride's dress is adorned with gold phoenixes, which are the symbol of the bride, as well as chrysanthemums and peonies, which symbolize wealth and good fortune. A modern bride often wears orchids instead. The bride might change clothing several times during the day, which shows the wealth of her family. Three dresses -- one for the wedding ceremony, one for the banquet and one when the bride leaves the banquet -- is traditional, though a bride might change dresses four or five times on her wedding day.
  
  

Wedding Rituals

• The actual marriage ceremony is relatively simple in traditional Chinese weddings. The bride and groom worship at the groom's family altar, giving thanks to their ancestors and the gods. This is still part of modern weddings, in which the bride and groom kowtow three times: once for the heaven and the earth, once for their parents, and once to each other. Kowtowing involves kneeling and touching one's forehead to the ground as a sign of respect. In some traditions, the bride and groom drink wine from the same cup or from cups tied with a red string; they then exchange the cups and drink again. A tea ceremony is also often a part of a wedding ritual, and the bride serves tea to each member of the groom's family.
  
  

Banquet

• A huge banquet for everyone attending the wedding, which included the bride and groom's families and friends, is a part of a traditional Chinese wedding and is the part that is most likely to be observed by a modern couple. A banquet can include 12 courses and typically offers delicacies, like shark's fin soup, bird's nest soup and abalone. Symbolic foods are also often served. For instance, noodles represent longevity, and desserts might have lotus seeds, representing a wish for the couple to have many children.