A Jayhawk in Taiwan: A Taiwanese Wedding

One of the Taiwanese teachers from school invited all of the teachers from our campus, and a few from the other campus, to attend her wedding. We received beautiful invitations a few weeks before the wedding and then we began the process of getting ready for the wedding. The dress code was traditional Chinese dress, so we all had to go out and buy ourselves traditional dresses. I went with a few of the Taiwanese teachers, including the bride, to find and get a dress fitted. I ended up choosing the first one I tried on. The shopkeeper was able to fit and alter our dresses the same night, which was super convenient.

A few weeks later, we attended the wedding. In Taiwanese culture each couple typically has two weddings. There is one wedding with the bride's family and friends and one wedding with the groom's family and friends. We were attending the bride's wedding. Taiwanese wedding customs vary from family to family and between the different regions of the country. We attended just what in Western culture would be considered the reception. The actual wedding ceremony was going to be on a different day.

Each bride chooses multiple dresses to wear for pictures, the wedding ceremony and the reception. The bride at this wedding had two dresses for her pictures, two for the reception and a few more for the groom's wedding later next year. Apparently, the number of wedding dresses a bride has shows the wealth of her family. The dresses don't have to be white. She wore one white and one purple dress for this reception and she had one black and one white one for pictures.

The reception started with an amazing, delicious dinner. We were served everything from sashimi to shark fin soup to roasted duck. It was awesome. Angela, Michelle and I were seated at a table with some Taiwanese teachers from our school. Two of those teachers have children in my class, who also happened to be there that night. It was so much fun to see them outside of school all dressed up. Halfway through the wedding, there were some games played. The bride and groom drew notes out of a box and five people were picked to go up on stage and draw a dare to do. Michelle had to Eskimo kiss the groom for five seconds, Emma had to take a shot with her husband, Susan had to be carried around the room via piggy back, Mike and Krista had to drink a glass full of whatever people put into it (vinegar, soup, wine, oil, etc) and one of Patricia's friends had to go around the room and take selfies with people. It was such a fun custom and it pulled the whole crowd together.

Later on, after more food, Patricia tossed her bouquet and Katie taught it. After a bit more food, the whole thing was over.

To learn more about Taiwanese weddings you can check out this site: http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=44497&CtNode=2466&mp=1009

It was a wonderful experience and I am so thankful for Patricia and Franc for letting us be a part of one of their special days.