It is being said that marriage is fixed at the heaven and we humans are just like a puppet that walk through the path of life to finally choose our partners. Since ages, marriage is considered a very sacred ritual where a girl and a boy tie their knot and wish to spend rest of their life together. Regardless of the country or religion a person belongs, marriage is the most memorable and precious moment of his life.
Marriage custom and tradition varies a lot from place to place. People from different country have some of their own way to arrange a marriage. Some of the custom that is commonly prevalent in most of the culture across the world are special wedding dress for bride and groom, wedding cake, wedding ring, wedding flowers, wedding songs etc. Wedding dress is given the utmost importance so as to impart the most unique appearance to the couple.
Traditional Chinese Wedding Dresses and Rituals
Chinese wedding dresses have attained world wide fame because of its antique and artistic embroidery. Rituals preceding the Chinese wedding are devoted to its ancient culture and tradition which is still prevalent in China. These rituals have its deep impact on the wedding dress of bride and groom. It is believed that wedding dress should never reflect black, blue or gray color as it may bring sorrow to their married life. Red and white are the two most prominently used colors in Chinese wedding dress. Red color is considered as the symbol of love and prosperity; hence most of the dresses include red as their base color. Even the candles, flowers, ribbons and fireworks, all used in red.
Chinese Wedding Dresses Design
These days some of the most exclusive wedding design includes expensive and precious work of gold and silver thread all across the borders. Skilled craftsmen are hired to impart artistic embroidery work with these gold and silver threads. Qi Pao is a one-piece frock that is the choice of young age brides in China. Traditional wedding dresses include two-piece dress named as Gua, Kwa or the Chengsam. These dresses are mostly prominent in brides from southern China.
Traditionally wore wedding dresses for both men and women include Chengasm with dragon and phoenix design. Dragon is the symbol of power and is worshipped by Chinese since ancient time. The combination of dragon and phoenix symbolizes the balance of male and female power. Black silk coat decorated with dragon robe is the typical wedding dress for groom. Most of such traditional dress designs are believed to be inherited from the time of Qing dynasty which has been the last dynasty of China.
A Modern Chinese Treatment
Recently, the taste of youth has changed a bit and they even prefer to wear more simple and sober set of coat without any robe or hat. It has been a trend now a day to change the outfit twice or thrice over the night. It is considered a status symbol of a family, more are the dresses more sophisticated is the family.
Besides these eye catching wedding costumes, a Chinese wedding dress also include complex but elegant headdress. Brides are adorned with such an exclusive hairstyles which adds up to their beauty even more. Hair designers are given special training before they could be a perfect head dresser for a bride. Sometimes the hairstyle is so complicated and heavy that bride could do nothing but to keep his head straight so as to maintain the balance. Such a headdress is also an outcome of ancient Chinese culture. Earlier it was a tradition that bride would first look at her husband only on their betrothal bed.
In this world of modernization, people don't prefer to follow all the culture and rituals as such even the Chinese bride could be sometimes seen in western outfit of white gown with a scarf and a formal black suit.