Things are different in Hong Kong. Different meaning not the same, although not necessarily worse or better or wrong. Some things I can accept but some things that are done differently leave me feeling that actually this is strange and odd and I can’t come to terms with it. Organising a wedding can be a daunting prospect for any couple. It involves an incredible amount of energy and coordination. There is always the pressure of getting good photographs of the day. The bride and groom have to look their best so that the photographer can get those shots. I remember my smile muscles were aching at the end of my own wedding day. The pressure is on to capture the moment for posterity.
However, in Hong Kong photographers and soon-to-be-married couples do the pictures a little bit differently. Instead of having all the photographs of their wedding day actually taken on their wedding day they have them done prior to the event and then a very professional album of themselves, in wedding garb, is displayed at the reception for all to see. Often the pictures are projected via a power point on the wall during the meal. Sometimes the pictures are incorporated into the invitation. The bride may or may not wear the dress she will actually get married in. The groom may be wearing the suit he will wear on the day, but then again he may just wear a different one. She may or may not carry the bouquet of flowers that she will have on the day. It seems irrelevant. The couple will pose for their wedding photographs wearing what is considered bridal wear with flowers but the pictures will be taken weeks before the big day. Not only are the photographs not taken when they actually got married but they may even be taken in a different country or an area in Hong Kong that looks pretty and no where that they will visit on their wedding day.
The result is a set of photographs showing the couple looking like models in different poses and situations. Sometimes very arty, romantic and wistful.
Yesterday, and for the last few weeks actually, the weather in Hong Kong was miserable. Cold, grey and wet. To get the blood flowing and to keep us warm we went out for a walk with our dog to Sai Kung Country Park. Before setting off we wrapped up warm and I even wore my thermal vest to be on the safe side. I was toasty warm and the walking definitely made me feel better about the dull awful weather we are experiencing at the moment. But in the river at the beginning of our walk, what did we find? It was too hard to take in at first but there, in the river, on a very cold day, was a groom in a white suit with his trousers rolled up wearing a pair of rubber flip flops posing for his wedding photographs. As we got closer and looked under the bridge we spotted the bride. The poor thing was sat in the cold water in her meringue of a white dress, clutching a bouquet and cooperating as best she could with the photographer who was getting the lucky couple to put their hands in the water and make a splash while he captured the moment. Other people were stood around, all wearing North Face polar jackets, holding spare wedding clothes and I think I even spotted some white feathers and some sparkly tiaras.
See the photographs as proof. It made my lips go blue just watching the poor shivering couple paddling in the water while I observed all cozy in my thermal vest and fleece windproof.
Definitely different – worse or better than having the pictures taken outside the church on the day? You decide.
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