Sunday, November 20, 2005

Happy Season

From October to January is the wedding season in Vietnam. Many couples and their families are busy making plans for their special days.

From my subjective point of view, the rich people arrange their weddings in an expensive way in opposition to the budget couple. Of course, people also get married in churches and other public places as well. They celebrate their weddings in hotels and restaurants of different levels. Families with lots of money have their parties at high class restaurants or hotels, hire a nicely decorated bridal car for the bride and groom while budget couples celebrate at small restaurants or at home. Taking photos before the wedding is a custom that everyone follows, and lots of people go mad taking pictures by changing into so many different clothes and of course, they have to pay a fortune at the end.

Weddings in the countryside are totally different. Food is cooked by relatives of the bride and groom. Most of the foods are produced in their own gardens, from the poultry to the veggies. They serve their own home brewed rice wine, instead of beer. They serve specialities of the local region. Some dishes are weird and customs vary according to area. For example, in Thai Binh cat is served at weddings and in Ha Tay it's dog. It is said that dog should only be eaten at the end or in the middle of the month to release bad luck, and cat is good to eat early in the month to bring luck?

In Hanoi, if you wander around the photo studios, the Opera house, the rose garden behind Ho Chi Minh museum, or Reunification Park you'll see lots of couples waiting for their turn just for a few photos.

6 comments:

layered said...

Why is Oct. to Jan. so popular for weddings? It seems colder and rainier in these days.

Preya said...

My sister and her husband got married in Hanoi, at the Daewoo Hotel, in the winter of 1997; they were the first foreign couple to tie the knot in Hanoi (and maybe Vietnam). If/when I get married, it'll definitely be in Hanoi as well!

Van Cong Tu said...

Hi Overlain,
Don't you think winter is good for wedding when it's always cold, people just want to stay in their beds. And in Viet, the summer is too hot and uncomfortable.

Preya, Glad to know that you are going to choose Hanoi for your special event.

xlpharmacy said...

I think it is amazing , some information that you said is true because I have a friend how is come from Vietnam and he can be happy all his life !

Vietnam tours said...

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Halong Vietnam said...

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