Monday 11 January 2016

Taiwanese wedding... Part One

... in my earlier post on our trip I showed you  some of my DS1 and DDIL1's 12 hour photo shoot photos.  Well, this post I will tell you about the pre-wedding day ceremonies that took place.

The day before the wedding, there were a number of traditional rituals and ceremonies which had to take place, all presided over by one of the family matriarchs who was there to ensure that all was done properly.

TraderVic and I, along with my DSister1 and several of DS1's friends, were staying at the hotel, the Chateau de Chine, where the wedding was to take place the next day. We were all picked up by various family members to be taken to DDIL1's house where the first of the ceremonies were to take place.

When we arrived, our DIL was waiting up in her bedroom (in her white wedding dress) for her groom to win his way to her.  However, he and all of us were not yet allowed inside the house. DS1 had to perform a number of tasks successfully - the Heng Tai challenge-  just to be allowed in the house to speak to her parents.  If he failed these tasks he was then "punished".





In this task the boys had to create a shape with their bodies, post it to FB and get 20 likes in ten minutes for DS1 to be able to move to the next task.

The "punishments" were all fun things he had to do as well!

Eventually he made it into the house where our DDIL's parents were waiting.


Then, DS1 performed a few more tasks and punishments but finally managed to make it up the stairs to where his bride was waiting.  He got down on one knee and proposed to her again - luckily she said "Yes!"



Then it was back in the cars, back to the hotel (which represented DS1's home), DDIL had to walk through fire to get into the building and then there were lots more photo ops and then the tea ceremony.  Sorry, there are no pictures of that, as TraderVic and I were the centre of this piece of the action. Our DIL had to serve us ceremonially serve us tea and give us ritual gifts of rice and bean.





It was all very beautiful and moving, with even more excitement to come as the wedding banquet was to be the next day!

That is all for now, 

hugs, 



17 comments:

Vickie said...

So very amazing Kaye. I have never seen such things. I shared this post with Brian. Can't wait for more.

Tiffstitch said...

Wow!! That sounds like quite the experience and I'm glad everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.

KimM said...

Oh, Kaye - what a wonderful adventure and experience. I"m so happy you and Trader Vic could be there for the fun and festivities.
xxx

Linda said...

Wow Kaye. That's amazing. John would have said to heck with it. I'm doing all of that. lol

Linda

butterfly said...

Beautiful couple and amazing photos , looks like you had a great time .

Denise SA said...

Congratulations on a lovely wedding

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

What a wonderful blend of traditional and modern. I'm not sure they had Facebook back in her parents' day? Great way to update the ceremony!

Daniela Bencúrová said...

Beautiful!
I wish them good luck and mutual understanding!

Melody said...

Fascinating post. Hope you have a wonderful 2016.

Annette-California said...

So so lovely! And to be honest - FUN! Certainly a change from traditional wedding ceremonies. The bridesmaids dresses are PINK! LOVE IT! and the brides dress is so beautiful. Looking forward to part 2.
love Annette

Karyn said...

Congratulations to you and Trader Vic! What gorgeous pics, and it sounds like such a wonderful and loving experience...your DS is so handsome, and your DIL is just beautiful! I love all of the ceremony and ritual involved.
Hugs to you all

Heather said...

Sounds like a very interesting experience. Lovely pics!

Barb said...

It has been so interesting hearing about this wedding. I have really enjoyed it!

Brigitte said...

So interesting to read about these traditions and to see the pictures. Must have been very special for you. Looking forward to reading more about the wedding.

Sheryl said...

Lovely intereting post and photos, Thanks for sharing.

Margaret said...

So when were these traditional rituals started? They involve Facebook so they can't be that old. lol! Very interesting indeed! Thanks for sharing it all with us.

Ariadne said...

And I thought it was us in Greece that do such customs!AriadnefromGreece!

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