A Local Wedding

The day Vanessa left, Maxime and I went to a Taiwanese wedding. Our connection was through the bride, who works very closely with Maxime.

In some aspects the wedding reception (we didn't attend a ceremony) was very similar to weddings I've attended in the past - banquet style set up, the childhood picture presentation, toasts... I have to say this wedding had a bit more... flare... than your typical run of the mill wedding in the States.

When you arrive you are greeted by a gigantic photograph of the bride and groom about the size of a billboard. There is a station where you can have your picture taken which is then super imposed onto a picture with the bride a groom - there are several photos of the happy couple to choose from - from goofy to serious- so your picture won't look exactly like the person next to you. The bride was on the creative side and had a wedding logo which was featured prominently throughout the venue - from the flying screens in the ballroom to the tiny candy jars that were handed out to the guests. The bride changed her wardrobe three times and was a beautiful bride in all her gowns.

One thing that is very different from an American wedding is the gift giving part. You don't buy wedding presents you give money. It must come in a red envelope and you need to choose an amount in a number that is not unlucky. When you arrive you hand over the envelope at a reception desk and they open it to see how much you gave and then they write the amount on a ledger for the world to see.

The meal was 12 courses! Lots of fish I had to pass on - especially the fish head which was placed on our table in the event someone wanted to gouge it's eyes out to consume - and yes, our table had a taker. No wedding cake or dancing - plenty of wine, though.

It was fun - we didn't stay late since we had to get back home to Henri and thankfully he had not woken up in our absence so he didn't even know we were gone (success!).