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On Monday I was photographing the wedding of Wai-Lun and Amy. It was a traditional Chinese wedding, and a completely new experience to us. It was a vibrant and energetic day with a traditional ceremony followed by a feast at Kam’s Palace in Park Gate, Hampshire.

The day started at the brides house in Southampton, where she prepared for the ceremony. Dressed in traditional red Chinese wedding garments, she and her bridesmaids awaited the arrival of the groom and his groomsmen. Following the traditional customs of the ceremony, the groom and groomsmen had to play door games in order to get to the brides door.

After the door games, the bride and groom continued on to the next tradition of the tea ceremony. This involves offering tea to the elder relatives as a sign of respect. The couple then receive gifts in return. The party then moved on to another venue in Chandlers Ford to perform the tea ceremony for the groom’s family.

Following the tea ceremonies the reception was held at Kam’s Palace in Park Gate, Hampshire. The building itself is an authentic, stunning Chinese-style building with traditional decor within. The party arrived, and we shot a number of group photographs in the traditional format. The symbols on the wall relate specifically to their names and the marriage itself. After a period to relax, the bride changed into her second outfit – a white dress. The couple greeted their guests, giving a short speech and then a banquet of 12 courses of traditional Chinese cuisine followed.

Halfway through the banquet, the bride changed again into a red dress. They visited each table to toast the guests. Finally towards the end of the day, she changed once again into a blue dress to wish the guests farewell and get ready for the evening’s celebrations.

After a day experiencing a new culture and taking in the region of two thousand photographs, we left the party. Both myself and my other photographer, Andy, would like to say a big thank you for making us so very welcome. We learnt many things about the Chinese culture and food during the day, and we look forward to shooting more in the future.

Amy Tang

Amy Tang Preparing

Wai Luns arrival

Amy

Groomsmen playing door games

Groomsmen plays door game

Groomsmen playing door games

Groomsmen playing door games

Groomsmen playing door games

Groom barters and get to his bride

Amy & Wai Lun (bride and groom)

Tea Ceremony

Tea Ceremony

Dress detail

Gifts received after the tea ceremony

Gifts

Gold gifts

Throwing of the bouquet

Amy & Wai-Lun share a kiss

Bride & Groom

Amy & Wai-Lun with Groomsmen

White Dress detail

Amy gives a speech before the banquet

Greeting the guests

Amys Red dress

Wai-Lun & Amy outside Kams Palace

Wai-Lun & Amy outside Kams Palace

Wai-Lun & Amy biding farewell to guests

Amy with guests

I think you will agree the day; along with all of Amy’s dresses, was stunning. We would like to congratulate them on their marriage and I wish them all the best for the future.