Lily and Jakob’s wedding
A marriage of two cultures
A wedding is a wonderful moment in time for a couple, a special announcement of unity but it also unites two families. In the case of Lily and Jakob this meant an international family union as many of their guests flew thousands of miles to celebrate this stunning Chinese and British wedding.
Stage One: The Brief
Lily first reached out to us in the hopes to surprise her husband to be, Jakob, with a Traditional Chinese Lion dance on their wedding day to acknowledge and celebrate his Chinese heritage. Chinese Lions are usually booked to perform at Chinese weddings as a blessing to the couple, to bring them a long and happy marriage.
In this case it was also to be an after dinner surprise for their guests. We suggested our yellow lion with its duo of animators so they could bring a red wedding scroll. Yellow is a lucky colour in Chinese culture and symbolises prosperity so it seemed a good choice for their big day.
Stage Two: The Chinese Tradition
Lily and Jakob chose the beautiful Rockliffe Hall for their wedding and had a traditional English wedding ceremony with specific Chinese elements throughout. This was a beautiful way to marry their two cultures together too, saying their vows in English and also making promises to each other in mandarin.
Dressed in a stunning white gown and a stylish suit Lily and Jakob were married and enjoyed a shower of confetti from their guests as they left their ceremony venue to head to their wedding breakfast.
Stage Three: Outfit Change
Lily had decided to tell Jakob about the Chinese Lion but it was still a surprise for their guests so just after dinner as guests left the banquet hall to congregate in the main bar the newly weds planned another surprise and sneaked off to change into traditional Chinese wedding outfits.
Their stunning red and gold silk clothing was the perfect extra touch to showing how important it was to them both. Red is of course the traditional bridal colour in Chinese weddings and wards off evil along with bringing joy, luck and happiness.
Stage Four: Entertainment
The wedding reception room was ready, a stunning room with huge red Chinese maple trees, white and gold fabric drapes and a live band ready to play long into the night. As Lily and Jakob are both musicians themselves and they wanted to share their passion of music with their guests an incredible saxophonist brought them from the bar into the event venue. Guests took their seats and a few minutes later in their beautiful new outfits, Lily and Jakob entered the room to gasps and applause.
It was time to bring out the next surprise with the Chinese drumming music starting and the Chinese lion making its way onto the dance floor. As soon as the performance started Jakob’s family began cheering and encouraging, laughing at the lion’s antics and enjoying the show. At the end of the performance the lion stood on its hind legs unveiling a red wedding scroll wishing ‘a hundred years of harmony’ to the couple written in Chinese.
Stage Five: Get The Party Started!
As the lion took its bow signifying the end of the performance the bride and groom posed for a photo and it was time to really get the party started. The cake was cut, the couple had their first dance and it was time for the band to do their thing.
Stage Six: Memories and Moments
It was a beautiful day full of love, culture and happiness. So, as with all weddings, these magical memories and moments ought to be expertly preserved. This was achieved by Hello There Films – self confessed “hopeless romantics” who specialise in creating timeless, cinematic films that will be cherished forever.
“Thank you to everyone that has made our day so perfect. My heart is bursting with love, I’ve literally cried 5 times today because I’m just so HAPPY!”
– LILY HO
Rockliffe Hall Wedding, Bride
If you are interested in hiring a Chinese lion for your wedding day you can find out more information about them on our Chinese Lion Dancers page. Alternatively if you have your own ideas in mind and would like to discuss a custom package created just for you – feel free to drop us a message form our Contact page.