A Wedding Cushion
Hullo ma wee blog,
It's a few weeks back since my Lovely G and I went down to England for the wedding of one of her ex work colleagues. It was a bit unusual as the bride was Chinese - from mainland China - and the groom English, especially so as we had been told that the day would incorporate some aspects of both cultures.
The wedding took place at Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire, near the heart of Bronte country and given that the weather had been pretty poor before the actual day, we were very lucky as we had a decent, mostly bright and dry day for the occasion itself. There's nothing worse than a rotten rainy day to put the damper on something like that. Every bride deserves sunshine on her wedding day, don't you think. Even though it was dry and bright it was quite windy and there was a chill in the air to remind you it was still February.
The Lovely G and I had never been down to that part of the country before, although we had been to the lake district a few times, but this part of Yorkshire is very rural and seemed very untouched, with it's tiny villages, narrow twisting roads and of course dry stone dykes everywhere. Some of these walls looked very ancient and were literally covered in green moss. driving along a narrow lane with moss covered walls on both sides was a real treat to the eyes and somehow made the roads less intrusive in the countryside. The Abbey dates from the 12th Century and is still in use as a parish church but I struggled to get shake free shots inside due to light levels and a request for no flash photography.
Martin and Liang - Just Married.
The service was a traditional British wedding service with some traditional Chinese music played as they wedding party signed the documents, then there was time for photos outside before we headed off to a local hotel for more photos before the meal and official reception got underway.
The Bride.
Vintage Rolls-Royce
The Photographer Does His Stuff.
Hair Settings - Liang and Her Mother.
A Quiet Chat.
The reception included a traditional Chinese tea ceremony which required the bride and groom to kneel before the parents and to serve them with green tea as a mark of respect. There was also a traditional bracelet gifting which symbolised the parents releasing their daughter to her new husband with gifts to provide good fortune.
The Tea Ceremony.
Bracelet Gifting.
We spent time with some friends who were also there. It was nice to catch up again with Sam and Lisa as we hadn't seen them for some time. We attended their {also unusual} wedding reception last year which you can read about here.
The Cake.
Cake Cutting
Liang Seemed To Enjoy Her Day....
See you later.
5 comments:
My Sweet Husband says that all brides are pretty. I think he is right. Looks like you had a nice day too.
That part of Britain always seems so atmospheric, ready to film another "British Lion" film. Lovely. We need to go back someday. I would love to spend more time in Scotland too.
Kat
I think all brides are pretty too. We did have a nice day. Something a bit different for sure.
It is a very picturesque part of the country. G and would like to go back for another look when we have a bit more time to spend. When we did have time the weather was to bad for any photography. Seems they were as lucky as G and I were for our April wedding with the weather giving just the one day clear with rotten weather either side.
Lovely photos Alistair, the bride looks radiant. My beloved is also Chinese, but from Singapore, and when my daughter got married (in St. Andrews) last year, she did the tea ceremony thing to us both.
I agree that that part of Yorkshire is lovely. I do miss historical British buildings. Here in NZ, nothing's over 150 years old.
I was just looking through an illustrated collection of James Herriot stories, and was wondering if Yorkshire still looked the same as in the photos in the book (taken in the 80's I think). It's lovely to learn that it does.
It was a treat to see the photos of all the Chinese touches to the fairly trad looking English church wedding, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the hair-do's of the bride and mother.
You do know how lucky you are to be able to travel so much, don't you? And we are lucky to hear about it and see your photos :)
TSB - I know we're spoiled here in Europe for history but your comment brings home the reality of a 'New World'. It would be strange to me if that was the case here. {of course the human history goes much further back}
Rebecca - Although we were in a beautiful part of the country - near Skipton _ it was obvious that it was a very small but picturesque area - very soon after leaving the valley to come home we were back in a much more modern {and ugly} landscape. It was beautiful though and we have promised ourselves to go back.
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