Don't Eat Shark Soup at Weddings

Okay so much of my day is spent on the telephone and communicating with Vancouver Wedding Suppliers and for the most part; it's a lot of fun. Especially when the vendors I connect with are thinking 'outside' the box. Yes, they are able to see what I see and make anything imaginable possible and more importantly can incorporate any form of cultural elements into any wedding. The one supplier that still has me thinking after today's telecon ...actually I don't think that that I can classify her as a supplier even because she is not really supplying anything tangible to brides and grooms - more importantly she is 'sharing knowledge with them and they need to know'. What is this knowledge...well what' I'm about to share with you is a bit surprising and really has had me thinking about the whole thing since I got her email and that is; 'apparently eating Shark fin soup has contributed to drastic decline in the number of sharks in the ocean. And since Shark fin soup is often served at Chinese banquets and weddings she is wanting to educate brides and grooms about the inhumanity associated with it.' Kudos to her: first for standing up for what she believes in and 2) for actually making an effort to do something about it. I will connect with this individual later but it's ironic since I get this call on the day I am planning 'how food is incorporated' into various wedding customs. Go figure. Will keep you posted about the latest and greatest in the world of weddings!

Blogging Brides

I've been wanting to touch the world of 'Blogging' for a while now and have decided to finally take the plunge of doing so. So here goes my attempt to share some thoughts in my head and hopefully some tips that brides and grooms and family and friends will find useful when planning the wedding of their dreams. Today happens to be 10/08/08. Yes two days after the 8-8-8 phenomena which I didn't really hear that much about this year compared to the 7-7-7 weddings that took place last year. Some Vancouver wedding suppliers I spoke to Friday were up to their ears dealing with the intricate details of nuptials of their brides and grooms; especially those planning Asian weddings while others were not so busy. Any idea on how many couples tied on the knot in Vancouver on August 8, 2008. Or how many in Toronto?

I did hear that over 16,000 couples tied the knot in Bejing on the the supposedly lucky day but wondering how many people from non-Asian backgrounds took advantage of the lucky, healthy prosperous numbers? I'm sure when it comes to the actual wedding or should we say the marriage (after the wedding) everyone could use a little luck in that department.

I'm even more curious to know of the Non-Asian couples that married on this 'auspicious day' how many of them booked their wedding around the numerological superstition.

It seems that culture is broadening it's meaning and allowing any one to take any part of any thing and make it their own. Let's say culture-redefined. So what if I'm not Chinese. Is it still okay for me to take advantage of the superstition? Will it work if I'm not Chinese?

What about all the other Chinese superstitions I don't know. What about the number 13. Some cultures will do anything to avoid having a 13 ( I think based on the idea of the Friday 13 movies) while others think the number 13 is lucky. Who's right? Who's wrong?

Who cares! Whatever it is - take what you like and make it your own! What better time to start doing this than on your wedding where you have the opportunity to see the world of choices and ideas from the cultures around you. More to come in my next post. Until then...stay well and happy planning!