Category Archives: Wedding

Bride’s Dowry Of Chinese Wedding

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Bride’s Dowry, part of the Chinese Wedding customs and rituals from the 3-Letters and 6 Etiquette’s. This part actually consists of the most things or accessories for the bride to prepare or to buy. The Dowry is actually the gifts from the bride’s parents for her to get married and these are the things that she will bring to her new home once she got married and moved in with her husband.

Back in ancient China, no doubts that a lot of Chinese Wedding’s bridal accessories have been missing compare to what we have today. That is the reason why we sometimes called it contemporary Chinese Wedding. It has been simplified. Totally changed but the root is still there.

The most important Bride’s Dowry usually consists of the followings. The Dragon & Phoenix or the Mandarin Ducks Bed Sheet. The color will be in Red cause the color itself represents auspicious for the Chinese. A lot of people still think that this item, the bed-sheet should be bought by the Groom instead. The truth is the other way round. This is the very first item of the Dowries. The parent will look for this first before any other thing else. It is belief that this bed sheet will bring them the luck and good omen of getting a child or a boy as soon as possible.

The second item will be the Potty Set. It consists of a potty, spittoon, round tray, basin and a baby basin. Nowadays, most of the Chinese couples that I found in Malaysia are trying to opt this out. This is actually very wrong. They dont even know what they are missing out. As I totally understand that most of them dont want children as soon as they get married. They are actually afraid the having children will tie them up. This set is actually meant for them to have children. In Chinese we call it

Red Wooden Clog – a pair for each of the couple wear inside their new home after they got married and also meant for the couple to be successful after they got married. It usually will be placed on top of the war drop and the higher it goes, the more successful the couple will be in the future.

Pair of charcoals actually meant for two things. The first one is meant for the bride to bring luck and prosperity to her husband. The second one is for the bride to use. Back in the old days, the charcoal will be lit and placed on the ground right in the middle of the grooms house front door for the bride to enter the door by crossing over it. This is to spell off evil spirit from entering the house.

Red or wedding umbrella- for the bride’s elderly usually the father will have to use it when sending the bride out of the house when the groom comes fetching her on the wedding day. The reason is her father is blessing them to have lots of children.

A pair of paper fans will also be needed on the big day. One will be used during the wedding day before the groom come to fetch her. Once she is inside the car, then she will have to throw the one she is using and change to the other one and continue to hold it until they reach the grooms house. The first one will be thrown out to leave part of the good luck and prosperity back to the brides home instead of bringing all over to the other side.

Chinese Wedding Tea Set is also a must. A new set is needed for the bride to bring it over the new home for her to serve tea grooms elderly during the tea ceremony. This is actually one of the major events in Chinese Wedding.

Lastly it will be the 8-boys cushion for the needles. For the Chinese, this is meant for more boys. This is a very good omen for them.

The above are only partly of whatever that has to be done. Betrothal Gifts is another custom that Chinese are still practicing until today.

Great Christmas Gifts For Newlyweds

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If you have a friend or friends that have just recently tied the knot, then you know that this will be their first Christmas spent together as a married couple. The holidays are already a special time of year, and being newly married just adds to the enjoyment of the season.

As you and other friends and family have already bought the newlyweds their weddings gifts, no doubt a list filled with household items and kitchenware, perhaps buying them anything similar would be redundant. Instead, there are plenty of other great gifts to get a newly married couple, for this their first Christmas together. Here’s a list of five great Christmas gifts for the happy couple to get you started.

1. Theater/Movie Tickets

Many couples love going to the theater, or at the very least seeing the newest films. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t like to see a movie now and again. If your newlyweds live in New York, then some Broadway tickets are a great gift for them to have a night out on the town. Even local theater tickets are a great gift if they are not in a big city. And if you are budget minded, then a gift certificate to their local movie theater will definitely be something they take advantage of. That, and there is a lot of flexibility for them to use them anytime of the year.

2. Online Movie Subscription

While going out to the movies is always fun, the rise of Internet streaming films and Pay Per View is also a great way to go. Many couples would prefer, especially on a cold winter’s night, to stay tucked up inside, cuddled up in front of the TV watching a movie or favorite TV show. Buying your newlyweds a yearly subscription to a service like Netflix is a great gift that they can appreciate all the way until next Christmas.

3. Restaurant Gift Cards

Going out to a lovely meal is something every couple likes to do. So buying your newlywed friends a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant is a great Christmas gift. The best part is that the cards are so simple to get. Almost every grocery store or pharmacy sells local restaurant gift cards, as well as websites like Restaurants.com. The ease and convenience of the gift for both you and your friends makes this a wonderful gift to give.

4. Couples Massage

With all the stress piled on from the bachelor/bachelorette parties, wedding, reception, honeymoon, and thank you cards, what newlywed couple wouldn’t love a relaxing massage at a lovely spa? And a couples massage is not only a great stress reliever, but also a romantic time to be spent together. After all, it’s times like that that they got married for in the first place.

5. Personalized Gifts

There’s nothing better than getting someone you care about a personalized gift just for them. Gift cards and such are great gifts, but the ones that will always be remembered are the ones specifically for them. Some great, personalized gifts are monogrammed towels/linens, photo albums and frames, and Christmas focused ornaments. All these gifts allow for personalized messages and engravings that the couple will hold dear forever.

Top 5 Different Types Of Wedding Photography

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When you begin your search for a wedding photographer, youre going to run into a lot of terminology discussing styles that you may not have heard before. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they simply hire a photographer and thats the end of it. Unfortunately, if you dont know what type / style of photographer youre hiring, you may not get the look in your wedding photos that you had been hoping for. By doing just a small amount of research youll be able to hire the photographer that shares your vision of the perfect wedding album. Here are the different types of wedding photography that will be available to you.

Artistic

This type of photography can be given to interpretation. Photographs may be saturated with color, given special effects or may even be hard to decipher as wedding photographs. You may want to find a photographer that utilises this style if you plan on hanging one or several of your wedding photos on the wall.

Candid

While professional photographers do utilise candid photography, its most often the type of picture-taking that you see from amateurs (unless the photographer has bought along a ‘second’ to take care of these particular shots). A bit of a point and shoot approach that doesnt have subjects primping and posing. This type of photography is most often used for more casual weddings.

Contemporary

This type of photography may be a combination of all the other types or a type that utilizes whatever style of photography is currently in vogue. Look through some popular photography magazines or even bridal magazines to see what’s popular.

Documentary

Photographers using this style attempt to convey a true feeling of the wedding and reception through their photographs. Looking through the wedding album will allow you to relive the day as it happened without the use of words or captions. This type of photography is also called photojournalism.

Formal

Sometimes called traditional, these are posed shots where everyone is looking at the camera. Group shots of the wedding party, the couple with their families and the couple on their own are popular.

Its very important that you convey your wishes to any photographer that you are planning on hiring prior to your wedding day. You aren’t gong to get a chance to have them retaken another day (hopefully!). Ask your potential photographer for references and look at their sample albums – many have galleries online to peruse. If they don’t seem to be understanding exactly what you want, move on to the next. Many professionals have a range of styles in their arsenal and should be able to give you several different types of photographs in one album. If the person you are interviewing can’t give you the look that you desire, chances are the next can. Get the right wedding photography for your wedding and you will have photos to cherish forever

The Symbolic Wedding Veil

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The symbol of the wedding veil has been permanently tied to a tradition that the bride and groom not see each other the day of the wedding. The tradition holds that it is bad luck. The symbol of the bride’s veil is actually part of the old traditions when marriages were prearranged, often before they were even born. The bride would be kept away from the groom for her entire life. On the day they were to be married, she would wear a veil so that her face is not revealed until after they have been legally declared as husband and wife. This is so the groom will not see the bride and possibly change his mind. While this custom was terribly degrading for the bride, it was not customary to tell women how beautiful they are and not buildup their esteem. It was just another form of repression in those cultures.

There is another culture in Eastern Europe that is steeped in the people’s superstitions. The people of old were terribly frightened of demons and evil spirits. It is said that these evil spirits would be jealous of a newly married couples attempt at happiness through marriage. Spirits cannot do what the living do and it makes them extremely angry. The bride would be veiled from the moment she arose on the day of her wedding. The veils back then were huge, billowy, and much thicker than today’s sheer fabrics. She would eat, dress, and do everything disguised under her veil so that evil spirits could not recognize her and torment her before she could be married. The veil was only lifted after they were married and therefore protected by her husband and by God.

The wedding veil was also said to be the funeral shroud. For this reason, a woman would make the veil before she was married. It was long enough to wrap her body in on the day of her death. This would prevent the evil spirits from recognizing her as she crossed from this world to the next. Women lived in great fear in those days and while this sounds morbid, a woman’s veil turned shroud was of great comfort to her. When I girl was old enough to sew, she would begin making her veil with the help of her mother or grandmother. By the time she was married, it would be long enough to serve both purposes.

Another symbol and tradition was that the wedding veil was supplied by the husband. It is what he used to capture is bride. The groom would pick the woman he wanted and sneak up on her, throwing the veil over her and carrying her away. She wore it until after she was married so that no one would recognize and attempt to rescue her.

The wedding veil and the wedding kiss are also tied together in symbolism. The wedding veil is pushed back after they are pronounced man and wife but in some places, this did not conclude the service. The bride and the groom had to then consent to a kiss before it was legal. Since the bride could not see her husband very well and in some cases, the husband never saw the bride until he lifted the veil, it was a moment of extreme anxiety as to whether they would both consent to the kiss. It was very often the happiest or saddest moment of the entire affair. The wedding gifts were often money in those days and the groom would be counting on the monetary gain. He would also be out any wedding accessories he would have had to purchase up to this point. That means that it was a more crucial moment for the groom than for anyone else.

Impact Of Punjabi Culture On Bollywood

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Inevidently, a big number of dance tunes in the newest Bollywood movies that are instantly foot tapping have Punjabi beats and lyrics, which give them a distinctive flavour from other kinds of Bollywood music. These Punjabi fun songs are normally big hits and can be heard playing in the discotheques and pubs all over India for several months past and before the release of the movie.

A Lot of the latest Bollywood movies like Singh is King, Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal were based on a Punjabi theme and they turned out to be large hits. A big Punjabi joint family has become a very well known backdrop among the directors for storylines of Hindi films in the last few of years.

The Punjabi setting and funk is so popular that several times the director does not even feel the need of having a Punjabi character in the film. Just a couple of Punjabi songs that have Bhangra music lend the film good support and popularity. And in fact, most of this music becomes very popular.

The Punjabi background and cultural setting has also been used in foreign cinema such as in movies like Bend it Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding. The Punjabi backdrop finds popularity with all types of audience and the loudness of the culture gives an engaging and melodramatic character to the movie.

The excitement of the culture draws interest of movie watchers from all parts of the country. Actually, this fervour is not limited to India alone – the Bhangra based songs are well known amongst people from all across the globe. No matter which part of the world you stay or are from, when the Bhangra beats play, you are bound to stand up and dance your heart out.

So, it comes as no revelation that the latest Bollywood movies are also cashing in on this worldwide phenomenon. After all, it’s making good money for the new Hindi movies’ producers.