Choosing the Wedding Date The date of the wedding ceremony isn't chosen by chance. Many couples consult with a fortune teller, Chinese monk, or Feng Shui master to choose a lucky date to bring success to their marriage. The couple's Chinese zodiac sign, birthday details (the bride's birthday is preferred to the groom's) will play a big role in choosing a date that is the perfect fit. Hair Combing Ceremony A ritual performed the night before the wedding to symbolize the couple entering a new stage of adulthood in their respective homes. The bride and groom will shower with pomelo leaves to cleanse off bad spirits and change into new red clothes and slippers. The bride will sit in front of a mirror (or a window), while the groom sits facing the inside of the house. The respective parents will prepare a pair of red taper candles and scissors, one stick of incense, a wooden ruler, a hair comb, and red yarn with cypress leaves. A woman of good fortune will light one stick of incense and a pair of red taper candles and start the hair combing ceremony. While she is combing the hair, she will recite blessings to the bride or groom. After the bride or groom's hair is combed four times, the woman of good fortune will clip the red yarn with cypress leaves on their hair and the ceremony is officially completed. Lucky Colors and Auspicious Red and gold play a critical role in all Chinese wedding decorations. Red is linked to love, success, happiness, prosperity, luck, fertility, honour, and loyalty, while gold is a symbol of wealth. The Double Happiness symbol, composed of two identical Chinese characters meaning joy, appears in all Chinese weddings. It can show up as traditional décor, made out of fresh red roses as a wall hanging for the tea ceremony, or as neon signage for an after-party. Other auspicious symbols include dragons, phoenixes, and mandarin ducks as they denote happiness and loyalty. A 24 karat gold pig necklace (pigs are emblems of fertility) is often gifted to the bride as part of her wedding jewellery to wear immediately. *auspicious - luck Adapted from brides.com ☐ Parents choose the wedding date. ☐ The horoscope is very important in Chinese culture. The bride and groom shower with pomelo leaves in the morning of the wedding. The bride and the groom light red candles while combing ceremony. The hair should be combed more than once. ☐ Both the bride and the groom are sitting outside the house during the combing ceremony. ☐ Red is a symbol of wealth. Dragons and ducks are symbols of luck. ☐ A bride is presented something gold at the wedding.