Saturday 7 July 2007

Chinese wedding in Paris

More than 30 new couples hold a group wedding in the Tuileries Gardens in downtown Paris on Saturday, when the Paris Shanghai Week opened as part of the Chinese Culture Year that ends this month.
I am getting regular queries about wedding photography in Paris by potential clients contacting me from Hong Kong or mainland china. Always asking for rental of tuxido and wedding gown as well as flowers and Limo ... At first, I thought it was one of those internet scam, AH AH ! Did a bit a research on the matter and realized that Paris was the prime wedding destination for Hong Kong residents.
This sudden fashion seems to be due to "The excellent France-China political relations that have provided profound basis for the prosperous bilateral cultural exchanges, which have, in return, facilitated the all-around development of bilateral ties," This is a quote from now ex president Chirac. The "Chinese Culture Year in France" is a big success as a result of the increasingly closer cultural exchanges between the two nations.
"... Imagine telling the wives of the four England footballers who got married last week about the traditional Chinese practice of renting bridal gowns – and imagine the horror. Renting a venue is one thing, but how can a woman rent a gown for one of the most important days of her life?
Simple. Greater China is mostly non-Christian, and what westerners think of as the wedding gown is only worn for picture taking. According to local celebrity designer Dorian Ho, a traditional Chinese wedding would involve one gown that could be a bridal gown for the ceremony, another for the reception, another for tossing the bouquet, yet another for dancing, and finally one for seeing guests off. In addition, says Carolyn Chow, partner and general manager of Central Weddings and Occasions in Hong Kong: “The average Hong Kongese lives in a small flat and if she buys a wedding dress, there is no room for storage. It is also more important to wear a cheongsam or qi pao. The wedding dress is not important so they don’t see any reason for spending much on it...”
Quotes from www.gluckman.com, Financial Times and The Telegraph

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photographe © Olivier Lalin © photographer
view site at weddinglight.com