Thanks for all the above well wishes guys !!! :icon_biggrin:
Our Wedding Day & Night
Sunday morning, my sister and I played Chinese poker from 9 am till 12 noon. Sunny was getting her make-up done and all the activity was happening at her Mom's house. I was just waiting for her uncle to pick me up. At Sunny's photography studio alone, there was forty-two ( 42 ) brides doing their make-ups. This weekend was popular days for weddings. When we drove through the city, you saw bridal cars on every major streets. Sunny called to say that I have to prepare a Red Envelope Door Entry Fee of 199 RMB in loose change. Apparently, her girlfriends want her to do the tradition of me paying to see her. Uncle and a few other men came to our apartment to hang good luck banners.
We then drove to Sunny's Mom's place. The verbal bantering at the door with her girlfriends was easy as I can speak the local Taishanese. Sunny looked very beautiful; my sister started crying. Having picked up my bride, we returned to our apartment to bless the heavens. One of the Aunts ( and Sunny has many ) carried two bamboo 'Good Luck' rattan baskets and two live chickens. At our apartment, there were many guests who arrived already from the convoy of six cars. Each car got a RE of 100 RMB. After the blessings, I was told to give out two Red Envelopes to each guest containing a five and a ten RMB bill. The Aunt gave me 1,000 RMB in brand new 5s & 10s bills change from the bank and I gave her back 1,000 RMB ... another last minute money surprise. Handing out the REs, I made it through the living room but when I got to the kitchen, people surrounded me asking for REs for their kids and spouses who weren't there. Out of the 1,000 RMB, I only used 440 RMB.
Next Sunny, myself and Auntie with the 'Good Luck' baskets and two live chickens headed back to Mom & Dad's place where we had to do a tea ceremony. Mom & Dad got a RE of 600 RMB each. I received back a RE of $ 200 Cdn to buy a suit, belt and wallet. Then we sat down for an afternoon early dinner. Then Sunny and I headed back to our apartment. The chickens didn't come back; this is the end of the road for them. Back at the apartment, GrandMom got a RE of 300 RMB. They put Sunny's nephew on our bed as a 'Good Luck' charm so our first born can be a 'son'. So he got a RE of 100 RMB. On our bed was four 'Good Luck' red pillows symbolizing '100', 'years', 'good' and 'togetherness'.
At 6 pm, we headed to the hotel restaurant. Mr. Huo, his wife and Mr. Wu came. They were very joyful at the reception line. Mr. Huo gave us a RE of 50 RMB. Apparently, Mr. Huo and Mr. Wu only got 3,000 RMB each as an introduction fee. Later, Sunny's Mom gave each of them a RE of 1,000 RMB. After all is said and done, this was a peacekeeping gesture. So overall including my 2,000 RMB, they got 5,000 RMB each. After Sunny and I entered the dining room, I gave a speech in Taishanese thanking our families. I also gave recognition to Mr. Huo. My sister started clapping and everybody in the room followed suit. Giving him face was very important to me and to Mr. Huo. Later he apologized to me for the way things evolved. It's water under the bridge but as a last gesture, I'm expected to treat him and his wife to dinner when we go back to Taishan to pay respect to my Mom's village home. We had 12 main courses. Dinner for eight tables cost 5,609 RMB. We brought our own booze which cost 396 RMB. So each table cost me 750 RMB or about $ 115 Cdn for 10 people. Dinner lasted for only one hour. Guests brought their own plastic bags to hoard leftovers. They even took home the remains of the turtle soup because it's an expensive delicacy. Sunny received gold jewelleries from her family. Many guests didn't give REs. If there's a 'concern' in the family, tradition is ... you don't accept REs. From the ones that we collected, the total came out to 1,860 RMB. 800 RMB alone came from Sunny's two best friends. So in reality, we collected only 1,000 from over 80 guests. Needless to say, everybody came for a free meal. When Mr. Huo left, he mouthed off at Sunny saying that she didn't appreciate what he did for her in findng me. Oh well. There was a mad traffiic jam heading out from the hotel as many bridal dinners finished at the same time. When we arrived back home, Martin called ... what good timing. He and Sunny had a brief conversation.
So the total wedding cost came out to ...
Red Book 100, Dinner 5,609, Booze 396, Car RE 600, Door Entry 199, In-law RE 1,200, Apartment Guest RE 440, Apartment Snacks 30, Nephew RE 100, GrandMom RE 300, Wedding Dress 399, hotel room cost for out-of-town guests 800 = 10,173 RMB + wedding pictures 3399 [ which we haven't taken yet ] = 13,572 minus RE received of 1,860 = 11,712 RMB or approx. $ 1,815 Cdn.
