a chinese wedding is a quick and cheerful affair. a couple of hours in a big ballroom spent in a routine that involves speeches, lighting candles, pouring champagne over a tower of glasses and of course, the unmissable fireworks and toasting with all the guests. the food might be exquisite, but is none of the opulent dishes we serve in portugal, which are so big in fact that cakes and dishes often go home with the guests in neat tupperwares.

but regardless of the place where it is celebrated, a wedding is a wedding. big smiles abound and there’s always an immense sense of pride and happiness for the two people tying the knot. it’s something i don’t imagine myself doing anytime soon, but which never fails to make my eyes a little teary.

more so perhaps, when one of the people standing there has been a dear friend for over 10 years, and that we have kept in touch no matter which continent we seemed to have ended up in. and if proof was needed that the world is indeed very small, this would probably be it: an indian friend, that studied in america and now lives in australia, fell in love with a chinese woman and married in shanghai. what are the odds? :)

congratulations debashis and yiyang!