Wedding Bells

Today is wedding day! The event started early for us...very early! Because I was staying with 3 of the 5 groomsmen our morning started at 4:30. After a mooning breakfast of McDonalds pancakes and getting everyone sorted and out the door we arrived at the grooms place at 6:30am. Shortly after the groom was nervously ready, the money was sorted and the bow ties were tight. The boys all looked so dapper in their suit and ties. 

In Chinese tradition, the pouring of the tea ceromany signifies the joining of the 2 people and their families in which at the end the 2 would be seen as married. The groom would take his friends or family and go to the brides house and barter with the brides friends and family to buy the right into the house so the groom could collect his bride. Games and events would take place before the groom won his bride. The tea ceromany would happen after this with the brides family and extended family and then the groom would take his bride to his family where they would then live. During the tea ceromany cash and gold was given to the newly weds as gifts. 

And so as traditions follow, at 7am we were arriving at the brides place and the boys needed to do some bidding and games to be able to "win" the bride, Patrina, and allow the groom, Gerry, to have her. This was entertaining including paying an entrance fee of money dominations in lucky numbers (1,2,3,6,7,8,9), a dance the boys needed to do and eating wasabi marshmallows. Once the bridesmaids were satisfied with their payments the groom and bride were united and a pouring of the tea ceromany happened between the new bride and groom and the brides parents. There was no grooms family tea ceromany as this was a much more western wedding and the grooms family lived over an hour away. 

After the tea ceromany everyone headed to Repluse Bay, a very ritzy side of the island, for the traditional western ceromany and lunch. The bride was beautiful and everything went off without a hitch. Lunch was served, speeches were made and it were all said and done by 3pm. I left Pat and the boys at this time as they needed to do 4 more hours of pictures and I enjoyed the idea of a nap before cocktails and an after party in town at 7:30. 

It was a very long day and a very happy celebration for Gerry and Patrina.