Wedding Rituals 101

The whole 3 day event was soooo overwhelming for me - not only witnessing, but being a part of my very first Chinese Wedding... which is weird having grown up in San Francisco where many of my Chinese friends did marry -- but alas, Western style so it did not prepare me for what was to come....

Nothing so earth shattering though, it was just one ritual after another -- and for a while there, it seemed like it was never ending... amd from talking with the Bride and Groom in between it all, they too, could not wait for the whole thing to be over with...

Wondering how I was going to BLOG this - not wanting for it too be as long as the wedding itself, I thought, the BEST way was to just do the PHOTO ESSAY for the events... so pls follow each links to the various albums - uploaded sequentially and here;'s hoping you will feel that you were witnessing it all in person - just as I was for the first time...
WEDDING ALBUM #1
The Groom arrives in Kaohsiung to take the Bride from her parents' home to his home in Nantou. The Groom offers his gifts to the parents, the parents give their blessing and dowry to the Bride & Groom...

WEDDING ALBUM #2
The Bride arrives in Nantou, the Groom's home... is welcomed by the Groom's family with some rituals, offerings, and blessings... The ACTUAL WEDDING and EXCHANGING of VOWS takes place...

WEDDING ALBUM #3
A Couple of Hours Break - spent at the Nantou Museum for a bit of relaxation and Photo Shooting.

WEDDING ALBUM #4
Reception Dinner in Nantou - given by the Groom''s family, and attended mostly by the Groom's family and friends...

WEDDING ALBUM #5
Back In Kaohsiung for the BIG EVENT, given by the Bride's family. Over 400 guests, mostly the Bride's family and friends -- the party is almost a whole day's event.

An Afternoon Break @ Nantou Museum

In between Wedding Rituals... took a bit of a couple of hours break and headed up the hills from Shaun's home, to one of Nantou's Museums, Bair Tsang - I, for some photo shooting...

The museum is dedicated to local artists who sculpts using local products such as wood and metal... the Museum pieces had toured worldwide and is one of the city's pride and joy...

The founder and curator, and artist himself, was kind enough to open up for us privately for some photo shooting as the place is just grand and surrounded by beautiful sceneries -- perfect for some really beautiful wedding shots... oka, okay, by a professional anyway... the ones in the ALBUM are just the ones I snapped....It was a great way to spend a 2 Hour break before the Exchanging of the Vows commenced....

Click Here for More Photos

Excitement & Craziness

So most Catholic and Western people I know whose marriage is dampen by a Death in the Family has to CANCEL or MOVE their wedding to a different, later date... but for the Chinese, the Belief is that a couple must be married within 100 days of a family member's death... As Shaun's father very recently passed away, the countdown begins for his wedding with Lyn (David's sister)-- couple this with the belief that The Year of the OX is not a good time for marriages (seems it is considered an unlucky year to get married)-- what usually takes a year in planning will have to be done before the Chinese NY (3rd week of JAN)! Hence, all the craziness and excitement going on in our household at this time....

This will be an AMAZING feat to accomplish as basically it will be three celebrations: one in Nantou (Shaun's familial home); Kaohsiung (Lyn's); & Taipei - where they both now resides and most of their colleagues and friends are....Now factor in the Feng Shuei part of the whole thing - where one needs to consult with the fortune tellers to see which dates in that little time frame, are good for each of the rituals: family engagement, wedding ceremonies/banquet in the three places, etc... and all the running about trying to get everything accomplish and done: wedding gowns, photo shoots, catering, etc... Let's not forget WORKING throughout all these preparations...

I myself, would just run to the nearest CITY HALL and get it over with -- but if anyone can make this HAPPEN, I know THEY CAN!!! They are two of the KINDEST & SMARTEST people I know... and Lyn is one of the most AMAZING women I have ever met -- very Dedicated, Diligent, and most of all, ORGANIZED... if you meet her you will be able to tell right away that she is totally one of those POWER WOMEN who knows how to take charge and be in control - FAIRLY, mind you...

For our part, David & I, are here to lend support... in any way we can... first up for me is to go WEDDING GOWN shopping this weekend... that should be FUN! This is actually my FIRST REAL CHINESE WEDDING to ATTEND - you know am EXCITED!!!!

LOTSA LUCK & LOTSA LUV Shaun & Lyn!!!!

A Weekend with Xiao Pang

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of visiting with Xiao Pang again -- Saturday in Nantou, his hometown; and Sunday he came up with his family to Taipei... Alas it was under somber circumstances, as we had to attend his Grandfather's funeral.. His Grandfather is Shaun's father... Since I last saw him, he is a bit taller, tummy a bit bigger, and definitely a whole lot smarter...
We got to take a little drive just to give him a break from all the Funeral goings on... and we were even joined by Wu Papa who also attended the Funeral... Wu Papa, like me, is just a kid at heart and Xiao Pang brings out the kiddies in us!!!!

On the 8th, Xiao Pang and his family came up to Taipei, as his Grandfather's ashes was placed in a Mausoleum in the city. We had dinner and even got to ride the Taipei Eye... and had just a blast screaming our lungs out...

Spur Of The Moment Part 2

Saturday, Oct 11th
With a WONDERFUL nite, came restful sleep -- needless to say we got up early Saturday morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.... David and I , while our company still sleeps, decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and take in the FRESH air... what a great idea as we were able to enjoy the FRESH MORNING AIR.... walking around to complete silence and no cars or scooters for a couple of hours... happen upon fields and fields of all sorts of fruits... -- Dragon Eyes, Papayas, lemons, Lycees, & Grapes...
Later on we were joined by Lyn, Shaun & his family and we drove about and visited the surrounding towns and got to see so much more of what's around Nantou County... in particular, JIJI County... a quaint little town that's been used to some of Taiwan's popular soap operas... one of them I even watched - so it was a treat to see where it was filmed... of course, we ate some more and tried all the local delicacies.. relaxed for a bit... played badminton with Xiao Pang... hung out... and just totally relaxed....

Later that nite, we all went to the town's hottest and biggest nite market for some food and a bit of fun... Xiao Pang's wishes finally came true as we all had MONGOLIAN BBQ -- the only thing he kept telling us to try all weekend long.... though very oily, it was not a bad recommendation at all... it was tasty and filling.... after that we walked around some more and enjoyed the different booths offering a variety of things... played some games - and even did the BUMP car thing with Xiao Pang - mind you, no one was allowed to bump other cars... if you do, you get kicked out... hmmmm - wonder why they still called it Bump Cars???

Over all it was a great get-away weekend -- we enjoyed everything and everyone's company so much that we are already planning our next visit... in DEC, when grape harvesting season begins....