The Wedding

On Sunday I attended a wedding in Qingdao. It was held at an upscale hotel and there were about 400 guests.

I apologize for the photos. Point and shoot camera, at long distance, and no flash.

We arrived right as the bride and groom did. To a drum corps of middle aged ladies. Very loud and energetic. This was in front of the hotel. The bride and groom entered the hotel and quickly disappeared.

In the hallway to the ballroom were three things.

The seating chart was on the wall about 10 feet wide. (I guess you gotta know where you are in the pecking order.)

A very good string quartet. Just as in Southern California, all the best young musicians are Chinese.

And the guest book. People sign their name quite large in the guest book. All Chinese but one.

The small red envelopes are for wedding gifts. All the same thing, just different denominations. Pretty practical. Kids get enough to get started in life.

The ballroom was done up pretty well.

There were just about 40 tables of 10 each.

Here’s a place setting. I still don’t know what’s in the favor package as I have to get it home to my wife and daughters while it is still intact.

Knowing the host of this party I was pretty sure we wouldn’t run short of food and drink. This is actually only the reserve stock. There were staging tables all around the room that were already provisioned.

All the guests took their seats, and an MC appeared. The big screens on the wall came to life with a count down to the appearance of the B&G.

The bride and groom came down the "isle". More like an elevated model's runway. They had a marriage ceremony. I saw rings exchanged, but have no idea what was said. Nothing religious, I'm sure. While they may exchange vows and such, the legalities are taken care of at some government office.

The bride and groom gave a very respectful bow to their parents, a gesture that I found very nice. Probably not going to happen in the US, right, girls?

The bride and groom then poured the first glass of Champagne. Actually, they poured the whole bottle over this pyramid of glasses, filling them all.

There were some short speeches (both fathers, plus some others), then it was over. As the bride and groom walked back down the isle, about 20 waiters appeared carrying the first dish.

The string quartet reappeared, and we enjoyed lots of food, and lots of drink.

The bride and groom cut the cake.

After a while, a piece of cake was delivered to our table.

Since you can’t eat wedding cake with chopsticks, they delivered forks to the table. That’s the fork, on top of the chopsticks.

These two girls came dancing down the runway. They were having a good time.

All the parents and the bride and groom, in two separate groups, visited each table. Here are the two fathers approaching a table.

I'm sure that I surprised both the bride and groom who had no idea a foreigner was going to attend.

Here’s our table about halfway through the meal. Actually, it must be getting towards the end because there is a fish on the table. That’s always one of the last dishes served.

I took this picture to show the way the local liquor pours. Just like charcoal lighter fluid. You should ingest them in about equal quantities. 103 proof. I declined.

Our server, pictured above, was responsible for our table and one other. I did not have to worry about my glass, or tea cup, going empty.

I did have to worry about those two guys across the table saying “gahn-bay”. I have two guide books that say that “gahn-bay” means “cheers”. Try it sometime. It means “bottoms-up”. If you want to say “cheers”, it is pronounced “cheers”.

I did enjoy the local wine. This is made just outside Qingdao.

These great folks sat at our table and took very good care of me. They always made sure I was the first to try every dish delivered to the table. Like, help, how do I eat this without embarrassing us all?

I took a picture of only one dish, which I was surprised to see. Henry said they served it because I was there. He was probably joking, because they served it to all 40 tables. Maybe not.

What’s so unusual? It’s American food. Sweet and sour pork. The only other time I have seen this in China, Henry and his brother ordered it as a joke. Here’s a tip. Don't expect the kind of food you get at your local Chinese restaurant in China. Everyone had exactly one bite.