When guests gathered at the Swettenham Arms on a typical English early summer afternoon in leafy Cheshire to witness the marriage of Elaine and Richard, they were in for a celebration with a difference.

The function room at the Swttenham Arms was decked out in a fusion of colours, from the traditional white of the English wedding, to the bright red and gold that is traditional for a Chinese wedding. A busy schedule was planned for the day and the wedding coordinator for the venue was there all the way from the start to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible.

The day went smoothly of course, and after everyone has been fed and watered sufficiently, the happy couple gave the signal for the evening’s surprise entertainment to begin. All through the meal, there have have been much speculation about what the surprise would be, non of the guests knew, even the catering staff came out to see find out what the surprise might be.

Suddenly the loud steady beats of a drum came from the edge of the dance floor, and a Chinese lion danced its way proudly through the patio door on to the dance floor amongst applause from the guests. Then, a second lion came in to the room from the opposite entrance. The room was filled with the rythmic sounds of the Chinese drum drumming and symbols guiding the two lions through their routines.

So what’s the actual purpose behind the Chinese Lion Dance? Other than being a thoroughly entertaining spectacle to watch, the Chinese lion dance was traditionally used to ward off evil spirits and give the happy couple the best start possible.

In this lion dance routine, the lions “chewed” on a lectuce and “spat” it back out at the watching crowd. This is a good luck gesture by the lions. The Chinese name for lectuce is “san choi” which literally translates to “growing vegetable” or “alive vegetable”, and “san choi” sounds like “growing wealth”.

Everyone enjoyed the lions and I have no doubt they will remember this wedding for many years to come. It was of course my job as the photographer to capture the day to its full, and it was my pleasure to be capturing this surprise for the happy couple.

Lions holding scrolls of well wishes

The Lion Dance was performed by Northern Tigers.

Ray
RHOTOGRAPHY.co.uk