The wedding banquet

UPDATE:
Gina, the bride, sent me some pictures of our little performance. To give an idea of what we looked like, here's the picture. Try to figure out, which of the three is me ... please don't go for the middle one.

Yesterday night, we attended our first Chinese wedding here in Fuzhou. A co-worker of mine got married, to, believe it or not, a co-worker of Shiqi. It was a nice and interesting evening. Even though, the wedding of Chinese couples nowadays contain many elements you also find on weddings in Europe, there are still some differences to be found.

The guests were all invited at 18:00 in the big hall of the Fuzhou Shangrila hotel. The bride and groom welcomed the guests in front of the big hall. There were already many people when we arrived. In total, the couple had invited more than 500 guests.
After having taken a picture with the newly weds, we were invited by one of the bride's maids to go to the 'registration' table, where we had to sign behind our pre-printed names in a book that contained the names of all invited guests. Also at the table, the money was collected. It's very practical: on Chinese weddings, you don't need to go out and find a gift. It is expected that each guests brings money (at least 300 RMB per person). A nice envelope or a card to put the money in is not necessary. The money is collected as if you are paying the bill in a restaurant.
After the money was paid, we received a small envelope each. 'For luck' said a person behind the table. After checking, we found 30 RMB in each envelope.

After that, we could go into the hall. It was gigantic, which was also necessary to fit in those 500 guests. There were approximately 50 round tables (10 people usually sit around one table) and each table was numbered. The highest number did not represent the amount of tables, though. Because for the Chinese, the number 4 is bad number, table numbers containing a 4 were omitted.

It took a while before all the guests had arrived and the bride and groom entered the hall. Around 19:00 the lights went down, a spot light was directed to the main door, and the bride and her father entered. The father handed his daughter over to the groom, and the couple walked to the big stage in the front. This was the official starting point of the party.

After that, the program items quickly followed each other. First, there was a short slide show of the couple, including some cute childhood pictures. Then, the fathers and the best men held speeches, each not taking more than 2 minutes. Then, the groom said something nice to his wife, and the rings were exchanged. When the rings were on, the couple cut the cake, lit some candles forming a heart, and poured in the champagne. After this series of events, the first dishes were brought in by the waiters and waitresses. This was the moment, the newly weds left the hall to change clothes. It is usual that at least two sets of clothes are worn by the couple during the wedding. The first set is often white: a white dress for the bride and a white suit for the groom. The bride then usually changes into a traditional Chinese 'qipao' and the groom changes into a western style suit.

René and I also went out to change into our popstar outfit, because we had to perform. Together with a Chinese co-worker, we sang the song 'You are my superstar' (in Chinese) for the newly weds. This was the only performance that night. Hopefully our act was not too strange for the Chinese.
Immediately thereafter the dinner really started. After René and I came back from changing back to our normal clothes, the bride and groom together with their parents, witnesses and wedding personnel went round to drink with each table. This is something that at some weddings can easily be the end of the party for the couple, if many of the guests insist on 'bottoms up' with the bride and groom. Just imagine having to do that with over 50 tables! Luckily for them, the guests were very considered and mild this time; the couple survived the round easily.

Right after the first tables were served with water melon, the usual final dish of a Chinese banquet, the guests started leaving. Within fifteen minutes after that, the hall was empty. That was around 21:30. Banquets generally end rather abruptly in China.

It was a nice and interesting evening, and very typical for a Chinese wedding banquet: short and intensive.