Sunday, April 26, 2009
7:32 AM
Smashing Wedding for Jiawei in Beijing
National paddler weds businessman Li Chao in a lavish ceremony at Beijing Hotel

Beijing - Li Jiawei proved she can serve up a wedding as smashing as one of her table tennis volleys here yesterday.


As melodramatic music played, smoke swirled, spotlights twirled and cameras flashed, the national paddler sashayed down a short catwalk in a stunning $13,000 gown before 600 guests.

On hand were celebrities such as Chinese director Zhao Benshan and Singaporean starlet Chen

Meixin, who was Jiawei's bridesmaid.

By her side was her husband, Chinese businessman Li Chao, 36.

Earlier, he had serenaded his bride with a rendition of Xiao Wei, Taiwanese singer Huang Pinyuan's hit, that called for Jiawei, 27, to 'fly to the sky with me'.

The four-hour ceremony was held at the six-star Beijing Hotel, where all feasted on a 13-course banquet.

Li Chao appeared rather unnerved at times by the media scrum capturing the couple's every move. But a friend of the groom, who gave her surname as Chen, said Jiawei's glow seemed to spread every time she wowed the crowd with a new costume change.

A stunning moment came after the compere proclaimed that 'the angel has descended from heaven'. The silk canopy on a raised platform was opened to reveal the bride dressed in a 40kg bustier gown hand sewn with 38,888 pieces of Swarovski crystals.

The four gowns she wore yesterday were specially designed for her and sponsored by Singapore's WhiteLink bridal studios.

The festivities began when the couple stepped out of a stretch limousine at about 10.25am - the bride in a flowing white Grecian-styled gown - at the Beijing Hotel entrance, to cheers from a hundred-strong crowd and exploding party poppers.

Above the din, a chorus suddenly rang out in Mandarin, but with a Singaporean accent: 'Jiawei, we will always support you!'

The bridal couple turned to see officials from the Singapore Table Tennis Association, including its president Ms Lee Bee Wah, who had flown in on Friday to attend the wedding. Both bride and groom broke into laughter.

After disappearing into a VIP room for over 30 minutes, Jiawei re-emerged in the rose-festooned hall in her crystal-encrusted gown.

The couple then exchanged vows and wedding bands as love songs played. Their romantic words to each other - 'I love you forever'.

The menu was definitively Chinese, from the shark's fin soup and jumbo prawns to the signature Beijing duck from the famous Quanjude restaurant. Jiawei said she added the latter to the menu to 'showcase the Beijing specialities to the guests from overseas such as Singapore and Japan'.

Another traditional touch was the tea ceremony. Li Chao was teased by the compere for 'immediately pocketing the red packet' he received after respectfully serving tea to Jiawei's father.

When it came to his mother- in-law, Li Chao obediently took the red packet and put it in Jiawei's hands, to applause from the audience.

Singapore Table Tennis Association's Ms Lee also attracted applause with her speech. 'I'm as excited and happy seeing Jiawei married as if I were seeing my own daughter married,' she said.

She also conveyed the congratulations from Jiawei's Singapore teammates who were unable to attend as they are competing in Yokohama, in Japan, tomorrow.

The couple apparently have no immediate plans for a honeymoon. Jiawei may remain in Beijing for a few months before returning to Singapore to resume training.

Li Chao told the guests: 'We hope to have ai de jing hua (fruit of love) as soon as possible, as Jiawei needs to go back to table tennis training for the London Olympics.'

(Source: The Straits Times)




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