Wed 18 Nov 2009 |
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 15:05 |
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In order to meet my bride, I have to overcome two obstacles -- two doors in her home both of which were "defended" by their friends and relatives. To get through, my groomsmen (there were more than one groomsman in my hometown) tried all sorts of method. Apparently, they used the brutal forced way first, but the steel gate looked very sturdy. Later, they gave the protectors some tips (the "red envelops"), but still was rejected as they thought the money was not enough. After some negotiation, finally the deal was made. Once the first door was open, my groomsmen and I were lead to another room where there were plenty of deserts prepared for us. It meant to provide a short "break" for us before getting throughout the second door.
Although the second door was made by wood, it still took us half hour to get in (of course more red envelops). Fortunately, the door was not broken by my hardworking groomsmen. Even I could see my bride sitting on the bed I could not getting in immediately. In stead, my groomsmen and I were lead to another room where five bowls of dumpling were served for us. However, it was not as simple as just eat them this time as the desert in the first room, there were no chopsticks at all! We have to "buy" chopsticks from the hosts with red envelops. While negotiating with them, one of groomsman used his finger to grab one dumpling and made us all burst into laugh. Finally we got several pairs of chopsticks with reasonable money and I was ready to have a taste. Before I tried to cut the dumpling into half, one groomsman came close to me and warned me to pay attention of the stuffing inside. I took a small bite, it was really salty! Noticing that I have figured out the strange dumpling, the host smiled and took some normal dumplings and served to all of us. Later, I was told that the purpose of this procedure was to test whether the bridegroom is smart or not. :)
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Sun 08 Nov 2009 |
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Sunday, 08 November 2009 20:57 |
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After we got the certificate, we went back home, there was only less than ten days. After busy preparation, the wedding preload was started one day before the ceremony. Early in the afternoon, several of my middle school classmates came by to visit my home for the wedding. Outside of the building, five red tents had already been set up for making dumplings. Before dinner time, some neighbours came by to help us including both of my Class Adviser from elementary school and middle school. As there were so many people showed up for help, tt did not take long before making enought dumplings to serve for tomorrow's wedding.
Later in the evening, most of my friends stayed at my new home and helped to decorate. They stick a lot of birght red "double happness" symbols inside the room, such as the furniture, the windows, etc. In addition to that, they set up two colorful flower strips cross the ceilings. With all of these decorations, the sat on my bed and played poker games. It is another tradition in my hometown that the new bedroom can not be used for the new couples until somebody has "warmed" it up. So, they stayed untill passed the mid-night.
Laying on my bed, I couldn't fell to sleep quickly. I looked at the decorations on the ceiling, I recalled so many things in my head since childhood. Thinking about the ceremorny the next day, I felt a little bit uneasy. But finally, I felt asleep after exchanging several SMS messages with Yunxia.
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Sun 18 Oct 2009 |
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Sunday, 18 October 2009 22:10 |
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To get the marriage certificate, we first consulted the local Civil Affairs Bureau for what kind of documentation we need. Back in 2007, there was a change for the ID card in China, i.e. the second generation issued throughout the country. However, neither Yunxia nor I changed it, we were concerned whether the 'old' ID card can be used or not. Another concern was that neither of our Household Registration is not in my hometown. For me, my Household Registration is still in Beijing after graduation in 2004. For her, it is in Sanmenxia, Henan province where she worked there for half year.
After talking with the staff in the Civil Affairs Bureau, they told us that the first generation ID card can be used for the marriage purpose as long as it is not expired. We then need the Household Registration card to get the certificate either in Beijing or Sanmenxia. Fortunately, both of our cards are valid, we decided to go to Sanmenxia to get her Household Registration card first. It turned out that getting her Household Registration card in Sanmenxia was easy. Since it is my first time to be there, we also took one day to visit a local park in Sanmenxia, which is big and pretty.
One day after we come back from Sanmenxia, we took our wedding glamour photos in a local studio in my hometown. Starting from 8am, we ended in 5pm in the afternoon. One hour later, still with the make ups on our faces, we hopped on the train to Beijing.
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