Labels: Angels, Decca Furniture, Dongguan, Life in China, Wedding
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:13 PM
Comments: 0
Orchestra, cheerleaders, clowns, magicians, angels, braised pig, and plenty of toasts. The wedding celebrations in This was to have been the second reception party I was attending for Lucia & Max. They held their first the night before in
Yes, I said 600! There were over 60 tables in the banquet room of the nearby Grand Oriental Hotel. Arriving I was in shock to find angels welcoming guests to the huge ballroom with an all girl orchestra playing unique Chinese musical instruments.
Everyone was greeted and given a balloon, for which I thought, was a nice feature, but really didn’t know its intended purpose until later. Soon a family member welcomed the audience, dancing girls performed a dance more attune to a cheerleading routine, and then the lights dimmed for the bride and groom to make their entrance between the six angels. Was that every unique!
This was a Decca celebration as much as the wedding celebration for Lucia & Max. She is the daughter of the vice-chairman, and Max works in our Contract Furniture group. So this night was principally a Decca event. The 
Lucia & Max were soon on stage cutting cake and pouring champagne. After a couple toasts, the emcee introduced the first course of the evening. And that was a spectacular entrance to behold too. All at once, a waiter for every table entered the back of the banquet room with a braised pig on a platter. What a procession! And good pig too!
The dancing girls performed several more times as the meal continued. There were a couple of surprises in the form of a clown doing juggling and magicians instantaneously switching opera masks, in a famous Chinese tradition. One even did an act with fire from under a mask.
Before long there were some special toasts, and soon the honored guests and family were passing through the crowd for toasts of wine at each table. That was a lot of toasting.
By the way, early in the evening, the emcee directed everyone to raise their balloons in unison for the bride and groom…… and pop them! Of course, I was listening, but didn’t understand the Cantonese and was jolted from my chair by the popping. At first, I thought it was fireworks, but soon realized it was orchestrated balloon popping. Now that was a good idea.
As so many Decca celebrations, it was a great night. And as wedding celebrations go, it was the biggest I had ever attended. Quite a night.
Photos of the wedding are available by clicking here. Be sure to visit all the sub-albums from the first page.
Labels: Dongguan, Life in China, Wedding
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 5:54 PM
Comments: 0
A wedding celebration you would only find in Dongguan. First the buffet was in the Pub, and then the party was in The Thirsty Dog. It was the first wedding party I ever remember in a bar anyway, but it certainly made it memorable. And besides, I can’t imagine a better place for the expats of Dongguan to celebrate such an event.
The One for the Road Pub setup a great little buffet in the dining area Friday night. Many non-invited patrons stared from the background, as they awaited a table for their own dinner until we departed for our next location. They had come for dinner, but had to await tables to clear from our party to get their own turn for dinner.
Labels: Dongguan, Life in China, Wedding
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 5:53 PM
Comments: 0
Received a kidney transplant 7/11/2010... Now using my new lease on life and retired in North Carolina.
