Keep in mind I'm talking from a students point of view.
~Clearly, if you are a student, you will not have to give a gift of any sort.
~There are many types of weddings and some are less formal. This is for a formal wedding. It's the same with a less formal wedding but you might be on the street.
~Taiwanese people will tell you not to wear black or white. This is because those are for death. BUT you may not have formal clothing in color. The best color to wear is red because that is wishing the couple luck. Try to wear red. If you can't: don't. It's okay! Really! Many Taiwanese people themselves will wear black and white. But if you wear black or white, try to wear a red scarf or something like that. Red tie. Maybe red earrings or hair clips. Don't stress about this. I promise no one will call you out.
~Taiwanese weddings have like, 10 courses. It's a lot. You could get very full by the second one if you're not careful. Try to pace yourself.
~There is no dancing at a Taiwanese wedding. Just eating. Then you leave.
~Relax, smile, toast when everyone else is toasting, if you see the bride and groom just smile, and enjoy all the free food.
So this weekend I went to my first Taiwanese wedding. Rotary club invited me to it. It was a really good experience. First, I had to find the hotel by myself, so I spent like an hour on google maps and drew myself a map. Google maps are your best friend in Taiwan. Then I had to walk into this grand hotel by myself and, well, my rotary counselor didn't know the name of the groom and bride, so I had to call my rotary club president who didn't answer, so then my counselor asked me to give my phone to a door man and I don't know what she said but he took me to the wedding room after that. Once in the wedding room, I had no idea where to sit and everything was in Chinese, so, I walked around until I found rotary, then a nice rotary lady went to find my seat. Finally I was at my seat. I got really lucky and the ladys next to me both spoke english. Then 30 minutes later my counselor arrived. I'm not going to lie, the start was stressful, but you will probably have someone take you and that will resolve that problem.
Anyway, the wedding was very interesting because although the people getting married were Taiwanese, they lived in Canada and spoke very good english and Chinese. The wedding was beautiful. Their pictures were beautiful. It really made me think about what I want at my wedding. Most of you already know I have a boyfriend, and I almost cried at this wedding; it was just so beautiful. You could really see the couples love for each other.
So the bride's family lives in Canada but the groom's family lives in Taiwan. The couple got married in Canada, but the bride and groom flew back to Taiwan so the grooms family could have the reception in Taiwan. After this reception, the groom and bride will move back to Canada together. I actually talked with them a bit. They were so nice. And the bride, she was so beautiful.
I got to try Sharks Fin Soup. Also, did you know in Taiwan, the bride wears about three dresses? And if they are rich, they wear five or six? Gave me some ideas... I asked my host mother about it and she said, the first one is white, the second is red, and the third is any kind the bride wants. She also said 98% of Taiwanese people rent their dresses.
Taiwanese weddings are so nice.
~Clearly, if you are a student, you will not have to give a gift of any sort.
~There are many types of weddings and some are less formal. This is for a formal wedding. It's the same with a less formal wedding but you might be on the street.
~Taiwanese people will tell you not to wear black or white. This is because those are for death. BUT you may not have formal clothing in color. The best color to wear is red because that is wishing the couple luck. Try to wear red. If you can't: don't. It's okay! Really! Many Taiwanese people themselves will wear black and white. But if you wear black or white, try to wear a red scarf or something like that. Red tie. Maybe red earrings or hair clips. Don't stress about this. I promise no one will call you out.
~Taiwanese weddings have like, 10 courses. It's a lot. You could get very full by the second one if you're not careful. Try to pace yourself.
~There is no dancing at a Taiwanese wedding. Just eating. Then you leave.
~Relax, smile, toast when everyone else is toasting, if you see the bride and groom just smile, and enjoy all the free food.
So this weekend I went to my first Taiwanese wedding. Rotary club invited me to it. It was a really good experience. First, I had to find the hotel by myself, so I spent like an hour on google maps and drew myself a map. Google maps are your best friend in Taiwan. Then I had to walk into this grand hotel by myself and, well, my rotary counselor didn't know the name of the groom and bride, so I had to call my rotary club president who didn't answer, so then my counselor asked me to give my phone to a door man and I don't know what she said but he took me to the wedding room after that. Once in the wedding room, I had no idea where to sit and everything was in Chinese, so, I walked around until I found rotary, then a nice rotary lady went to find my seat. Finally I was at my seat. I got really lucky and the ladys next to me both spoke english. Then 30 minutes later my counselor arrived. I'm not going to lie, the start was stressful, but you will probably have someone take you and that will resolve that problem.
Anyway, the wedding was very interesting because although the people getting married were Taiwanese, they lived in Canada and spoke very good english and Chinese. The wedding was beautiful. Their pictures were beautiful. It really made me think about what I want at my wedding. Most of you already know I have a boyfriend, and I almost cried at this wedding; it was just so beautiful. You could really see the couples love for each other.
So the bride's family lives in Canada but the groom's family lives in Taiwan. The couple got married in Canada, but the bride and groom flew back to Taiwan so the grooms family could have the reception in Taiwan. After this reception, the groom and bride will move back to Canada together. I actually talked with them a bit. They were so nice. And the bride, she was so beautiful.
I got to try Sharks Fin Soup. Also, did you know in Taiwan, the bride wears about three dresses? And if they are rich, they wear five or six? Gave me some ideas... I asked my host mother about it and she said, the first one is white, the second is red, and the third is any kind the bride wants. She also said 98% of Taiwanese people rent their dresses.
Taiwanese weddings are so nice.
Wow, that sounds really nice. I like this post as it's interesting to hear how weddings differ over there. What color did you wear? Also, did you take any pics?
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