Sussex Exclusive Magazine. Issue 4 2023

An auspicious
wedding
Janine Lowe talks about Chinese weddings and
auspicious dates, colours and flowers
As the focus this month in Sussex
Exclusive is on weddings, I thought I
would share my experience of a Chinese
wedding I went to in Bangkok.
Chinese weddings are planned around an
auspicious month. In this case, the groom was
born in the month of the Rat (December) and
auspicious months for Rats to marry are January,
August and December.
The bride chose traditional, auspicious Chinese
flowers in her wedding bouquet like peonies which
represent wealth and prosperity with a sprinkle of
orchids as these symbolise fertility and abundance.
At the reception there were hundreds of Chinese
lilies which symbolise the union of two people.
Before I went to the wedding, I asked for a
wedding list to give me some idea what to give
them. The Chinese do not generally give a gift but
instead a red envelope is placed beside your plate
in the celebrations, and you are asked to place
money in it and give it to bride and groom.
The wedding I went to was attended by at least
two hundred people so the queue to hand our
little red envelopes over was huge, but everyone
was smiling and loved the fact they could try their
English out on me.
The wedding will always stay with me as one
of those memories which was beautiful and
inspiring but as a Feng Shui consultant an
absolute gold adventure.
Auspicious colours
In China, the bride and groom get married twice.
For the first wedding the bride chooses a red dress,
which was stunning. Red represents prosperity and
good luck. She changed in the evening to a blue
dress which represents stability and harmony.
The bridesmaids, and there were eight of them, wore
gold dresses which represents wealth and prosperity,
and they carried sunflowers as their bouquets, which
symbolize happiness and prosperity.
As you can see in a Chinese wedding everything is
about using the most auspicious colours, flowers,
and the right date to get married.
They also had a tea ceremony which was so touching
to watch and was to bond their love for each other
and to enhance the longevity of their marriage.
Choosing your wedding dates
If you know your Chinese animal here are some
months that are auspicious for you to marry:
Rat – January, August and December, avoid June.
Ox – May, June and September, avoid July.
Tiger – June, October and November, avoid
August.
Rabbit – March, July and October, avoid
September.
Dragon – May, August and September, avoid
October.
Snake – January, April and September, avoid
November.
Horse – February, July and October, avoid
December.
Red is the colour
But it didn’t end there as on the tables in front of
us was a gift from the bride and groom in a red
envelope were Chinese chopsticks engraved with
their names and wedding date. This symbolizes a
long and happy marriage.
Goat – March, June and November, avoid
January.
Monkey – April, May and December, avoid
February.
Rooster – April, May and August, avoid March.
Dog – February, June and November, avoid April.
Pig – March, July and October, avoid May.
Janine is a
classically trained
Feng Shui
consultant in the
arts of Bazi, Flying
Stars, Auspicious
Dates, Qi Men Dun
Jia and I Ching.
www.janinelowe.co.uk
@nudegoose
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