Wearing a Chinese Red Dress to Rehearsal Dinner

I have a silly question..

why would you not wear clothing from your own culture?

I suppose the idea is to pay homage to the culture we are marrying into, and acknowledge that the new culture will now be our own as well!

Jo asks a good question, but I can see both sides of it (joining in union with two families and cultures etc)

I don't think this would be inappropriate.. If Ninjaaa were still around she'd probably have a great answer.

I really like the idea of embracing the culture and traditions of each others culture. Does he having any siblings that you could ask? ETA: Are there any local traditional chinese clothing shops? Im sure they could point you in the right direction. ETA2: Or you could get your FH to talk to his mom in more general. Have him express interest in learning more about wedding traditions, and he may be able to discretely pull some info that way.

Are you not doing tea ceremony? That where you wear cheongsam. It doesn't have to be red They are quite sexy btw

Imo, you really should consult with FH. There are way too many different Chinese traditions base on regions/countries.

I don't understand why you would do this if you're not going to find out, from the source, how each family not only feels about this, but what their individual customs are.

For instance, DF's family is Scottish. If I were to expect him to wear a kilt, he would look at me like I was crazy, because his family no longer follows that custom. For them, it is no longer tradition, at least as his close family celebrates their heritage. Instead, they use their family tartan and coat of arms.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying this is REALLY not the sort of place where you want to make it a surprise, because if you learn afterward that you messed up? His family is going to quite likely take it as an insult to their culture.

Here I am in my mothers silk dress she wore on her wedding day (she made 3 outfit changes) I plan on changing into it later in the evening. It's something special I share with my mother and my sister wore it to cut her cake at her wedding. My mother moved over from China when she was 5.

Look for quality silk... dragons and The Phoenix are symbols of luck/prosperity. Red is a lucky color.

Traditional ones will be hand beaded and stitched.

ETA: I would talk to his side of the family first. They can help you pick something out. Rather than it being a surprise it may be better to make it a bonding activity. Most likely there is a dress within the family or silk that has been passed down. My mother still has silk for both me and my sisters "dowery"

Chinese bride here. It's certainly appropriate for the bride to wear red wedding dress. Go for red instead of pink, and silk instead of cheap polyester if possible. Most cheap dresses sold online feel like costume to me. What @Fall Bride posted is an option. It's not the traditional wedding dress but an invention from the early 20th century and more appropriate for reception than ceremony. But I suspect you can find something authentic as in this picture. I'd suggest you consult your FMIL and see what she thinks.