The Chinese Banquet: Portraits

After San Diego, my dear sister suggested we have life-size cardboard cut-outs of ourselves so that anyone can get a picture with the bride and groom. I kid you not, there are some group portraits where I am right in the middle of the picture with the boy and I don't know anyone.

They were mostly our parents' friends, and since this was their party, I had to oblige.

But I did manage to get some shots with a few people I actually know. Here are a few of them.

[This is my Dad. He likes dorky neck ties, Home Depot, prime rib, and American Idol.]

[This is my grandmother. She likes sewing, knitting, gardening, and Chinese television dramas.]

[These are my sisters. The both live in the SF Bay Area. The boy says that I have an entirely different laugh when I'm with them than I do with anyone else. What can I say? They're my best friends and are the few people who understand my impersonations of our mother.]

[This is my cousin. I don't know if I have ever shared the story of how we met, but we actually met at college. In the same dorm! We're distantly related, but our parents saw each other on move-in day, recognized each other, and we've been friends ever since. She is also getting married (hooray!) and you can follow her journey on her blog.]

[And this is us. I felt it necessary to take a few shots like this to keep it real. The boy is smiling because he smiles a lot. He told me yesterday that one of his co-workers always asks "Why are you so happy?" because he smiles so much.]

That concludes my banquet recap! For anyone planning a Chinese banquet in Sacramento, we had ours at Rice Bowl Restaurant and we received a lot of compliments on the food. They also let us bring our own alcohol, so we had a "mini bar" for anyone that wanted to get a little bit tipsy. But I would advise any brides/grooms/anyone to get dressed elsewhere because that changing room is window-less and smells like roast duck.

As a final note, I might be complaining a lot, and I do make fun of my mother, and enjoy arguing with elders when I find something absolutely ridiculous...and rolling my eyes...and being the most American of Chinese daughters...but I am really glad that we had the banquet. Not only was it important for both of our parents, but it was an important tradition for many of our relatives and also a celebration of our family. Growing up, the Chinese Banquet was THE wedding celebration, and I had never experienced anything else until I got older. I'm glad we could continue the tradition.

[For more banquet craziness, I recommend watching Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet--luckily our experience was less dramatic.]

[All photos, except for the one she is in, taken by my sister]