I am excited to mark my diary and the first thing that I do is to prepare a timetable for what will happen on my big day. Usually:

• The bride needs to get up very early – a 5am – to spend three hours in make-up and prepare her Xiuhe dress, a traditional Chinese outfit.
• The bridegroom also needs to rise early to get properly dressed.
• At a time considered to be of great fortune, the bridegroom will head to the bride’s home to pick up the bride. The bridesmaids will block the room door and request the bridegroom to complete several tasks, for example, to say love in ten different languages to the bride or to do 10 push-ups. If the bridegroom and his groomsmen fail to perform to the bridesmaids’ satisfaction, they need to give hong bao (a red packet filled with money) to the bridesmaids.
• Following the games, the young couple serve tea to the bride’s parents to show gratefulness and respect.
• The couple then heads to the wedding home to serve tea to the bridegroom’s parents. The whole process is called Jie Qin (pick up your wife).
• During the process, professional photographers and videographers record the special moments and prepare short videos to be played later that day at the wedding ceremony.
• Thereafter, the couple, their family, and friends will head to the wedding banquet for a formal wedding ceremony hosted by the moderator, during which lunch or dinner will be served.

This is what a popular traditional wedding looks like now in China. It is quite costly and very time-consuming in terms of preparation. Hence, many people, including some of my close friends, opt to celebrate with their close family and friends in a nice, tiny, sweet bistro or by travelling. Either way, I hope everyone enjoys their wedding day and every day, whether or not they are getting married.