SOCIO/CULTURAL BACKGROUND In China, marriage is highly traditional and a very important aspect of life and custom, therefore it is a liminal process, as it is a deep centred and highly ritualized affair. (Hobsbawm and Ranger. The Invention of Tradition, 1983) There are many different reasons for marriage in China with many different protocols and rituals, but the overriding aspect of a Chinese wedding is the union and enrichment of two families, to ensure that the families involved create a progression of tradition so that in the future many descendants will carry on the family name. China is a Patriarchal society and has differing definitions for the prospective bride and groom. For the female, marriage means leaving the family home and getting "married off  whereas the male is gaining a wife or "getting married . So when the bride marries she doesn't belong to her own family anymore and has to put her husbands name first. This means that her own family can't interfere in her life anymore. This should not in itself be viewed as sexual discrimination, as the following so succinctly defines this role "Although China's economy and polity have undergone enormous changes, gender subordination continues to condition to a significant degree people's experience and life opportunities. This should not lead us, however, to the view that gender inequality is a sui generis structure or that women's subordination is derived from an unchanging kinship order, as some scholars have suggested (K. Johnson 1983:25) This " marrying off  shows itself in the actual wedding ceremony by the splendour of the ceremony. It is really the final thing that the bride's parents do for their daughter, so it shows the grooms family that they have status, and from that time on it is the brides "job  to take care of her husband and her new husband's family. SYMBOLISM The date of the wedding is very important to Chinese families, star signs are especially fortuitous and even days are considered very luck. The actual wedding ceremony start time is also of vital importance as it is considered very lucky to be married after the half-hour, this means that the marriage starts in an "upswing  as the hands on the timepiece are going up and not down. The wedding cake has many tiers and symbolises the newlyweds climbing together for a successful life and marriage. To this end the couple will start cutting the cake from the bottom and make their way to the top of the cake. In China, the colour Red means happiness, wealth and love and is central to a Chinese wedding. Everything is adorned red. The house decorations, the ceremony decorations, the bride, the groom, the envelopes for gifts, the balloons, the cars, everything is red, red, red. STRUCTURE There are usually three stages involved in getting married in China; legal registration, photo-taking and then a banquet. The legal registration is much the same as in the west when couples go to a wedding registrar and just sign a form to complete the legalities, thus making the marriage legitimate in the eyes of the Chinese government. Prior to the actual wedding day a couple will spend a full day with a photographer getting perhaps 1000 photos taken in a variety of different costumes and poses. The actual photos are usually a masterpiece of poetic love poses and adoring poses, from the 1000 photos the best dozen or so will be chosen by the soon to be married couple and an exquisite book is made with some real beautiful pictures adorning it. The family and friends of the couple will celebrate the actual marriage at the banquet. Usually the MC will perform a welcome speech, and this will be followed by the cutting of the cake. As the cake is tiered and symbolises the climb of success for the newlyweds, the cake is cut from the bottom firs