The Extravagant Nature Of Asian Weddings: A Cultural Celebration Extravaganza

Asian weddings are often large and extravagant affairs, with multiple events, hundreds of guests, and lavish decorations and gifts. In Asian culture, weddings are not just about the celebration of love between two people but also an opportunity to bring together and impress the community. It is customary to invite all friends and extended family from both sides, resulting in guest lists exceeding 500 people. Asian weddings are also typically spread across several days, requiring venues, catering, and other costly arrangements.

While the scale of these weddings may vary, the underlying culture of extravagance and communal celebration is prevalent. For some, it is about showcasing social status and wealth, while for others, it is a once-in-a-lifetime event worth splurging on.

The guest list

Asian weddings are often large, communal affairs, bringing together the friends and extended families of both the bride and the groom. This can easily result in a guest list of over 500 people. In some cultures, such as in Nigeria, weddings are open to all, and guests can number in the thousands.

In Asian culture, weddings are not just about the couple but are an opportunity for the wider community to come together and celebrate. This can include distant relatives, such as second cousins, as well as friends and colleagues. The guest list can also be influenced by social expectations, such as inviting guests who had previously invited you to their own celebrations.

The size of the guest list is further impacted by the duration of the wedding celebrations. In some cultures, Asian weddings are spread across several days, with multiple events and ceremonies. This format naturally lends itself to a larger number of guests, as each event may have a different guest list, and some guests may only be invited to certain parts of the wedding.

Additionally, cultural and religious traditions can play a role in determining the guest list. For example, in Chinese weddings, it is customary for the couple to receive hongbao (red envelopes filled with money) from guests. This tradition encourages a larger number of guests to be invited, as a way of offsetting the cost of the wedding.

While the trend towards large weddings persists, it is worth noting that there is also a growing movement towards smaller, more intimate celebrations, particularly among millennials. These smaller weddings can be just as memorable and allow couples to focus on creating a unique and personalised experience for their guests.

Multiple-day celebrations

Asian weddings are often multi-day celebrations, with festivities spread across several days. This is partly due to the sheer number of guests, which can easily exceed 500 when you consider the extended families and friends of both the bride and groom.

In Asian culture, weddings are not just about the couple but are a communal affair, bringing together large groups of people for revelry and celebration. It is an opportunity to invite all friends and family to meet and socialise. With so many guests, it is common for Asian weddings to be held over multiple days, with different events and ceremonies taking place over the course of the celebration.

For example, in some cultures, there may be a traditional engagement ceremony, followed by a separate white wedding. Pre-wedding festivities such as mehndi (henna) ceremonies, sangeet (musical) evenings, and rituals involving the families of the bride and groom may also take place in the days leading up to the main wedding ceremony.

The multiple-day format allows for a range of events and activities to be included in the wedding celebrations, ensuring that all guests are entertained and that there is time to socialise and create memories. It also provides an opportunity for different groups of guests to mingle and get to know one another, strengthening the sense of community.

The multiple-day format also allows for the inclusion of various traditions and rituals, some of which may be specific to the culture and religion of the couple. For instance, in some Asian cultures, it is customary for the groom to be given tasks or challenges by the bride's family before he is allowed to see his bride, adding an element of fun and negotiation to the festivities.

Cost

Asian weddings are often lavish and extravagant affairs, and the costs can reflect that. While the average British wedding costs around £23,000, an Asian wedding can cost upwards of £50,000. In the United States, the average cost of an Indian wedding is between $225,000 and $285,000, with some even reaching $1 million.

The high cost of Asian weddings can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, the guest list tends to be extensive, with upwards of 500 guests. This large number of guests requires a large event space and a grand venue, which can be incredibly expensive, especially in cities like London. The cost of catering and beverages for such a large number of guests can also be significant.

Another factor contributing to the cost is the tradition of hosting multiple events surrounding the wedding. Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim weddings often include several big days leading up to the wedding, such as dinner parties, henna nights, and religious events. This is followed by the wedding day itself and a grand reception to wrap up the celebrations. Each of these events incurs costs for venue hire, catering, decorations, and entertainment.

The wedding attire can also contribute to the overall cost. A wedding dress from a specialist bridal supplier can cost over £3000. The bride and groom's parents may also purchase new outfits, further adding to the expense.

Additionally, there may be costs associated with entertainment, such as DJs, live bands, or celebrity performers. Other expenses can include photography, videography, flowers, mandap (decorations), lighting, and hotel rooms for close family and friends.

It is worth noting that the cost of Asian weddings can vary depending on location and the specific choices made by the couple and their families. While some opt for extravagant celebrations, others choose to have smaller, more intimate weddings that are more affordable.

Traditions and rituals

Asian weddings are often large, extravagant affairs, with guest lists exceeding 500 people. The weddings are usually spread across several days and involve a series of rituals and traditions.

Chinese Weddings

Chinese weddings are lively, colourful, and lavish, with red and gold decorations. Red symbolises love, success, happiness, prosperity, luck, fertility, honour, and loyalty, while gold symbolises wealth.

The wedding ceremony often begins with the groom and his groomsmen travelling to the bride's house, where a tea ceremony may be performed to pay homage to the bride's family. The bride's friends may then set door games or "tests" for the groom to pass before he can claim his bride. These games can include anything from singing an original love song to the bride to eating strange foods.

The tea ceremony is an important tradition, where the couple serves tea to their parents and other extended family members as a sign of respect. The tea is often paired with traditional ingredients such as lotus seeds and red dates, symbolising sweetness in the marriage and future heirs.

The wedding banquet is another lavish affair, with a menu featuring symbolic, auspicious foods. A fish course symbolises abundance, a suckling pig symbolises the bride's purity, and a poultry dish symbolises peace and unity.

Other Chinese wedding traditions include:

• The preparation of the matrimonial bed, with red and gold decorations to spark passion and fertility.
• The hair-combing ceremony, performed the night before the wedding to symbolise the couple entering a new stage of adulthood.
• Firecrackers and lion dancers to ward off evil spirits.
• The exchange of gifts, including gold jewellery, money, and symbolic items such as oranges wrapped in red paper.

Indian Weddings

Indian weddings can last from five minutes to several days and are always colourful and vibrant. Before the wedding, the bride and her female friends and family decorate their hands and feet with intricate henna designs called "menhdi". This tradition is often turned into a "mehndi party", where the women bond, laugh, dance, and sing.

In some regions, it is considered bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other for several days before the wedding. During the marriage ceremony, the bride's parents wash the couple's feet with milk and water to purify them for their new life together. They also hold grains of rice, oats, and green leaves, symbolising wealth, good health, and happiness.

Another important ceremony is the "Haldi", where the couple is anointed with turmeric paste by their close relatives to bring luck and riches.

On the day of the wedding, the groom, his friends, and relatives arrive singing and dancing in a procession called a "baraat". The couple then exchange flower garlands and toe rings, and the groom marks his wife's forehead with a red dot (poddu) which she will only erase after her husband's death.

The bride usually wears red, as white symbolises widowhood in Indian culture. She may wear a red Sari, a decorated skirt and blouse with a veil called a "lehenga", or other traditional garments.

Pakistani Weddings

Pakistani weddings usually consist of four ceremonies spread across four separate days:

• 'Mehndi': A colourful celebration where the bride's hands are painted with henna.
• 'Baraat': A large feast hosted by the bride's family, considered the main wedding event.
• 'Nikah': The holy ceremony performed by a religious Pastor or Imam, where the couple is declared husband and wife.
• 'Walima': A feast hosted by the groom's family, where the bride's family comes over to celebrate.

The bride typically wears vibrant colours and traditional gold jewellery, such as a lahnga, shalwar kameez, or sari. After the wedding, the couple returns home for a "showing of the face" ceremony, where the bride removes her veil while her female relatives make off with the groom's shoes, demanding money for their return.

Japanese Weddings

Japanese weddings are traditionally categorised into two types: "Miai", which is arranged or resulting from an introduction, and "Ren'ai", where the couple meets and decides to marry on their own.

In some cases, the bride is painted pure white to declare her maiden status to the gods. She may also wear a "watabōshi" (a white hood) or a "tsunokakushi", another type of headgear meant to hide her "horns of jealousy".

Traditional Japanese wedding customs ("shinzen shiki") involve an elaborate ceremony held at a Shinto shrine, with the bride wearing an embroidered silk kimono covered in purple iris flowers, as purple is the colour of love in Japan.

South Asian Weddings

South Asian weddings often involve a large guest list, with the couple inviting all friends and family from both sides. The weddings are spread across several days and include a series of rituals and celebrations.

While the weddings may seem extravagant, many South Asian millennials are opting for smaller, more intimate celebrations, similar to the modest affairs of the past.

Extravagance and social status

In Asian culture, weddings are a communal affair, bringing together large groups of friends and family from both sides. It is an opportunity to revel and celebrate. This often results in a guest list of over 500 people.

Asian weddings are also usually spread across several days, requiring a large venue and a lot of food. All these factors contribute to the high costs associated with Asian weddings, which can easily exceed £50,000.

The extravagance of Asian weddings can be attributed to a combination of cultural norms and the desire to display social status and wealth. In certain Asian cultures, such as China, a wedding is viewed as a chance to showcase one's social status and affluence. This mentality often leads to extravagant celebrations, with some weddings costing millions of dollars.

The pressure to keep up with social expectations and the desire to impress others also play a significant role in the extravagance of Asian weddings. There is a mentality of "log kya kahenge" (what will people say) among the elder generation, which influences the scale and grandeur of the celebration.

Additionally, the influence of social media cannot be understated. Couples may feel the need to showcase their wedding on platforms like Instagram, leading to a "for the gram" mentality. This further fuels the desire to host a lavish and impressive wedding.

The extravagance of Asian weddings is also influenced by the fusion of traditional and Western wedding elements. In China, for example, couples incorporate traditional Chinese elements, such as hongbao (red envelopes filled with money) and firecrackers, while also adopting Western traditions like the bridal party and white wedding gowns. This fusion of cultures contributes to the overall grandeur of the celebration.

Lastly, the wedding industry itself plays a role in promoting extravagant weddings. The industry, estimated to bring in annual revenues of $80 billion in China alone, relies on couples' desires to create memorable and unique celebrations. Wedding planners, designers, and other vendors cater to these aspirations, offering luxurious and customised services that contribute to the overall extravagance of the event.

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