Weddings without brides and grooms in Hai Duong

The happy day is not complete

Recently, Mr. Nguyen Van Dong's relatives in Hong Phong commune (Nam Sach) unexpectedly received an invitation to his son's wedding. Mr. Nguyen Van Hao (born in 1988) is working in Japan but has not returned home yet. When inviting the bride, he did not forget to explain his situation and introduce his future daughter-in-law from Quang Binh. Although there was no main character, on the auspicious day and time, relatives and friends came to attend the wedding and organized the ceremony all the way to Quang Binh province.

Mr. Dong said that his son fell in love with a girl from Quang Binh province. After a period of getting to know each other, the two decided to get married. Although he had not yet met his future daughter-in-law, he still agreed to marry her and gave his children his blessing. The wedding ceremony was held with all the steps from the engagement to the bride request, and guests came to congratulate his family on their happy day. The groom's family representative also rented a car to Quang Binh province to hold a symbolic bride request ceremony and also to get to know the in-laws' family.

The family of Mrs. Tran Thi Ha in Quynh Khe village, Kim Xuyen commune (Kim Thanh) also held a wedding for her daughter without the bride and groom. Before the wedding, under the guidance of her daughter who was working in Korea, her family also knew the address and connected with the in-laws. The two families organized a house visit and discussed the marriage of their children.

Mrs. Ha said that any family would want to organize a complete wedding for their children, but because of the conditions, her family had to do so. The wedding was less fun without the main character, and the guests were also limited to relatives and acquaintances. "That was the wish of the children, so we organized it so that they could work in a foreign country with peace of mind. We also feel more secure when our daughter is abroad with her husband taking care of her," Mrs. Ha said.

In recent years, many young people have chosen to work abroad with the hope of changing their lives. Meeting in a foreign country, they have the opportunity to get to know each other and decide to get married. However, not all of them have the conditions to return home to hold a normal wedding. They entrust the two families to meet and choose a good day to hold the wedding. For parents, although their children's happy day is not complete, they still feel more secure knowing that their children have an additional relative, a wife or husband, to take care of them and share their joys and sorrows when they are far away from home.

Relatives' Certificate

After 5 years of working in Korea, Ms. Pham Thi Lan (daughter of Ms. Tran Thi Ha) has had her husband by her side to share her joys and sorrows every day. After graduating from high school, she chose to work in Korea. The work is hard, she just hopes to regularly meet and interact with fellow Vietnamese people. Among them, she met Mr. Nguyen Duy Manh, from Thanh An commune (Thanh Ha). From the same hometown, in the same situation, after 4 years of getting to know and loving each other, they decided to get married. Initially, the decision to hold a wedding in their hometown was not supported by both families. After much persuasion, understanding the true wishes of their children, her family agreed. Although not yet legally certified, with the witness and recognition of relatives, the couple felt happy and joyful.

Not being able to attend her own wedding, only being able to look at the videos and photos taken, Ms. Lan could not help but feel sad. She shared: "We were not able to wear a radiant wedding dress like other brides, but we were already husband and wife. When the wedding was held in our hometown, we also held a small party here for our friends to celebrate together. Without Vietnamese ao dai, we wore traditional Korean costumes (hanbok) to take photos to remember this important milestone."

Nguyen Van Hao said that at the age of 36, his friends already had their own families, so every time he called home, his parents urged him to get married. And he found someone who was "like-minded". After introducing him to his family, a simple wedding was held in his hometown. Although he was not the main character in his wedding, he was still very happy to receive the wishes of his friends and relatives. "There was no marriage certificate yet, so the wedding was not only a confirmation from relatives but also a commitment to a long-term marriage," Hao said.

Wedding is a big event in life, everyone wants to have a sparkling scene, the bride and groom receive good wishes from family and friends. However, the cost of travel is a big barrier for many young people when the economy is not stable enough. There are even people who are illegal workers and cannot return to their country. However, they want to have a marriage with the consent of both families. So the number of weddings without brides and grooms is increasing.

Whatever the reason, the love, care and sharing of couples in foreign lands deserve the blessings of their families. This also makes the life away from home of young couples warmer.