Before lunch we had our official wedding ceremony.
This official wedding notice has our names (Hong Fang and Li Qiao Zhi) on the right and describes from right to left the 8 ritual steps of our ceremony. You’ll have to ask Jenny all 8 steps; Mama was explaining them to us the night before, but then the electricity cut off and by the time someone found a candle the moment was lost. All the shops had sold out of normal candles (at double price) so we had to use the kind of candles on wooden sticks that you normally stick in the ground at tombs. Later we had two red wedding candles.
First, we had to stand ready outside:
Next, we were joined by our official sponsors - the senior cousins of the family:
They led us into the house through a hail of firecrackers:
Jenny entered first:
Then George arrived at the altar, which had various decorations on it representing lucky wine, lucky money, and lucky cigarettes:
The officiating village elder burned some ceremonial paper money:
Then we bowed three times to the ancestral altar:
After which we are officially allowed to hold hands:
Then we were led upstairs together:
And led into the nuptial bedroom where several small explosions covered us with confetti:
Jenny’s parents presented us with red envelopes of lucky money, and I had to officially address them as “Mother” and “Father”.
Then I was allowed to kiss the bride:
After which everyone in the whole house filed in for group photos in order of seniority…
…including loads of children to bring us child-bearing good luck.
