I suppose there are many out there who might be interested in the marriages here in Singapore...hmmm, can I indulge myself a little on the usual customs of Chinese marriages in Singapore...Please bear with me a little will ya? =)

As you would know, Singapore is a multi-cultural society. We have Malays, Indians, Eurasians among many others and naturally, marriage events are quite different here. For the Chinese, it would usually be throwing a dinner/lunch on their customary wedding days. Sound simple isn't it? That was what we initially thought! Well, it is more than meets the eye...as any married couples will definitely tell you and in great details too!

As for the going-to-be married couples, we wish you luck and patience in settling issues on traditional customs etc. Believe me, you would definitely understand what I meant when your turn comes. =)

You (Our guests from overseas) would probably ask: "Customary? What's the diff with normal wedding?"

The difference is that customary wedding day is usually not exactly the same day when you signed on the dotted line to say: "I'm yours forever, please take good care of me!". Of course, there are couples, who fix the "signing" and their customary wedding to be on the same day but these are usually quite uncommon.

I guess the reason is mainly due to the fact that couples would need to be legally married within a certain time frame for purchase of flats in Singapore and by getting registered earlier, they will be able to have a flat ready when they so decide to marry.

Couples here don't usually stay together before customary marriage (I'm not saying its common among foreigners though!). Well, but I guess it's basically cultural difference in our very varied world.

Anyway, the main events on the customary marriage day would probably be as follows: The customary proceedings would start with fetching your bride from her house in the early morning. There, the groom would usually face with an uphill task with his best-man/s to get into the bride's house. Why? More often than not, there would be a bunch of "hungry" bridemaids waiting to pounce on you for the Ang Pao. Ang Pao equals a very small red paper packet with MONEY inside!! Yes, unfortunately it is the more the merrier, obviously...sigh. On occasions, you could be hearing S$9999 dollars!!! Haven't they heard about Asia economic crisis? Com'on gals, give us a discount! Wouldn't you beautiful ladies...? =)

This would then be followed with Chinese Tea Ceremony at the groom's house, followed by another one back at the bride's house.

What next? Food of course! Yummy!
The couples would prepare themselves for the wedding dinner at a restaurant or a hotel. Dinner would be served at 19:00 Hrs (as printed on the invitation cards)....hey! but where are the guests? Got the hint? =)

Your BIG days' event should be completed latest by around 23:00 Hrs and the manager would be smiling to you readily with an interesting amount on the bill. "Thanks for everything! We accept cash or credit card! No cheques please!" he would probably say... there goes the hard earned savings for the past 20 odd years.........;P

Oh well, the couple is suppose to be happy on this joyous day isn't it? =)

"Hey! I'm Married!!!" you can almost hear them as it echoes in their mind during their march off for their long awaited rest...So fellow surfers...How's was or will be your marriage?

P.S. In case you are wondering, that's how our wedding band looks like.

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