Wedding Gazette

Chinese Wedding Receptions

By Jennifer Baumann

Chinese wedding banquets are known for their extravagance and splendor. Learn more about traditional foods and customs that accompany the wedding reception.

The reception is by far the most important part of the Chinese wedding day. The wedding banquet is a significant way for the groom's family to show off for family and friends by thowing a generous party.

• Many times there are tables of mah jong (a Chinese tile game), set up for guests to play before the festivities begin.
• There is usually an emcee to "host" the evening and alert the guests to important announcements.
• Traditionally, banquet tables are round, and seating charts are manipulated so guests who do not know one another are seated together.
• Since the wedding banquet holds such esteem in Chinese culture, the menu is usually made up of Chinese delicacies - the best that money can buy. These include lobster, abalone, roast suckling pig, dessert and fresh fruit.
• Between courses, the emcee entertains the guests while the wedding party takes turns playing tricks on the couple (mostly on the groom). Like when the groom picked up the bride from her home that morning, the bridesmaids play funny games on the groom to make him show his love for the bride.
• The opposite of Western tradition's receiving line, at the end of the banquet the bride and groom stand at the door, and speak to everyone as they leave.
• Rather than gifts, guests usually give money tucked in red envelopes.