You would see a red Chinese character, meaning double happiness at most Chinese/Vietnamese weddings. I'll be writing this post in red because in the Chinese/Vietnamese as well as probably most Asian countries's tradition, red is the lucky color, especially for wedding. I just attended my cousin, Han's wedding in CA. Her husband is a Caucasian and that has caused quite a stir in Han's family. She is the first in her family to marry a Caucasian. My family, on the other hand, is all too familiar with this scenario. Actually, I'm the exception in my family - most of my siblings married Caucasians. I am happy to report that all my brothers-in-law and sister-in-law are very nice people who have adapted quickly and smoothly into our family. My parents now have seven grandchildren, who are all very handsome and beautiful. I have always loved kids of mixed heritage - I think they are the cutest.
There were a lot of preparation before the wedding day. I was out there helping Han with getting stuffs done because Han is my very dear cousin. Han's sister helps with the flower arrangements and making the bridal bouquet. Han's husband's name is Dan. The wedding was done in the traditional Chinese/Vietnamese style where the groom's family brought over trays of gifts for the bride's family. The number of trays has to be even due to the nature of the occasion - everything must pair up. There are certain food that must be presented - there's a roast pig, tea, wines, tray of to serve tea/wine, little wedding cakes and sweets, fruits (Chinese like oranges, Vietnamese doesn't like orange), candles, and a tray of betel leaves and areca nuts (symbolism). We had to prepare all these trays for Dan's family and explain the meaning of each tray for the groom's family members and friends who helped to carry the trays.
It was very hectic. My siblings didn't do this part of bringing the trays when they married. I was the only one that had a traditional wedding. To my two sisters who also came to the wedding, it was too complicated. They didn't care too much about doing it the traditional ways.
After presenting the presents, the bride and groom had to pay respect to heaven and earth first, then the ancestors and lastly to each others. As far as the family is concerned, the marriage is complete. However, to make it official in the eyes of the law, my cousin and her husband will have to go to City Hall to get the marriage license and have someone married them officially. In my case, I procured a Justice of the Peace to officiate on my wedding day so that it's official on the same day. The wedding reception is usually at a Chinese restaurant. Guests are seated ten to a round table (it's easier to get the food which are put in the center of the table).
I would love to post some pictures of the wedding, except that I lent my memory card to my cousin, Huan because his photographer friend forgot to get a bigger memory card for this occasion. He printed some pictures out for me, but I would need to scan them into the computer and then upload them to the website.
a link to some pictures from Han's wedding:
Below please find links to more articles about Chinese wedding traditions
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa111098.htm.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa093098.htm
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