About New Zealand

Whether it is the East or the West, people's attitude towards weddings is generally the same - it is a lifelong event and cannot be taken lightly. Our ancestors told us that beauty is reflected in details. Only the details of this wedding can truly reflect the attitude towards life under completely different cultural backgrounds and different values.

In English-speaking countries, including the United States and former British colonies, the default wedding ceremony is in Irish or Welsh style. We Chinese probably think that foreigners are more open and comfortable, and may not be as good as us in many aspects. "Tossing", in fact, it is not the case. Take New Zealand, a country most influenced by the British. Most of the people there are Irish immigrants. Weddings full of Irish conservative flavor may make many Chinese students feel particularly cordial.

Gerald and Liz both work in banks in the northern city of Auckland. This job is extremely high-paying locally, so they also suffer from a common problem among high-income earners, which is to marry late. Gerald is 27 years old this year. Although this age is not too late in China, many 22-year-old men there have already become the fathers of two children. On August 5, 2004, Gerald and Liz, who had been living together for more than a year, drove their family's middle-class car, a Holden RV, to the city hall to get their marriage certificate.

The concept of the City Council is completely different from that of Chinese government agencies. Not only do marriages have to be registered at the City Council, but also paying speeding fines, registering for charity parades, and expanding one's homestead must be registered there.

Newspaper advertising is not only for commercial purposes in New Zealand. The major newspapers in each city have a section for publishing birth, death, and marriage information for free. So Gerald registered an advertisement in January 2005. On February 7th, countless strangers will see this advertisement and wish them well. It is customary for us Tianjin people to get married in the afternoon, while other cities choose to get married in the morning, and New Zealand is no exception.

Our tradition is that the groom’s family is obliged to bear all the wedding expenses. The groom must also arrive at the wedding venue early to welcome the bride’s family to prove that “my family’s financial strength is enough for your daughter to live.” happiness". Gerald from New Zealand rushed to the church with the bride (for some reason not at the same time). Relatives and friends had already been waiting there. They were all "witnesses" of the wedding to bear witness to the reliability of the marriage. Then they took photos at the door of the church. This was the wedding photo taken by foreigners, not the kind of people sitting in a photo studio.

The dinner was held at home on February 8th. Liz’s father borrowed a large green tent from Foster’s Brewery, and her mother volunteered to do makeup for all the female guests. Gerald’s The father called his brothers, who were excellent amateur musicians, and the brothers and sisters of the bride and groom all came with their own special skills. In terms of their love for fun, there is no difference between Europe and China.

Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, all kinds of activities were ready. The giant bathtub was filled with crushed ice and beer, the band had finished adjusting the sound, and the barbecue stove had been moved outside the house. Liz's mother Sumptuous delicacies were prepared in the kitchen, including a traditional cold mix consisting of soda crackers, pickled cucumber slices, feta cheese, sour clam meat, and fruit slices, as well as lettuce, purple leaf lettuce, radish leaves, and carrots stirred with wine vinegar. Salad consisting of tassels, bean sprouts, bell peppers, tomatoes and avocado.

With a greeting, the family soon gathered in the backyard, and even the neighbors joined. After a brief blessing ceremony, Gerald's uncle played a lively polka. The adults held cold beers by the oven and waited for the grilled sausages, while the children grabbed a handful of snacks among the grass and trampolines. Jumping up and down. Football is an eternal topic among men. Just discussing last week's game process, each man can drink 5 bottles of beer. There were no Chinese-style banquets or traditional wedding ceremonies. The entire wedding process seemed like a free party, with everyone enjoying the joy of carnival leisurely. This may be because their food is really mediocre, and the British food on the table does not have enough cohesion to make people sit upright, but the freedom gained from it is also wonderful.

The next morning, the excited Gerald and his wife boarded a plane to go to Fiji for vacation. This nation believes in "work hard and play hard". It is really rare to be able to leave the desk work for a week. enjoyment, although their work pressure is much less than that of the Chinese.