Photos by Gruen Photo & Design (North Carolina) & Courtesy Delbela Wedding Planning (China)
Sometimes, a happy ending starts with being in the right place at the right time. That, plus a little go-getter attitude, was likely the case for Corey Cooper and his new bride, Bella.
“Bella had just finished her Masters in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong – the same program I was about to start when I arrived in Hong Kong in 2013,” says Corey. “While still in Beijing when I was applying to the program, I saw on her Facebook profile that she was an alumnus of the program, and I contacted her to ask some questions about the program. We had a few mutual acquaintances, so she accepted. Not long after I arrived in Hong Kong, I called her and asked if she wanted to help me look for an apartment. Afterward, we went for dinner, and I showed her pictures of my travels to Yunnan, her home province in China, taken while I was working as a journalist in Beijing.
“I’m not sure if it was my knowledge of China or my love of spicy food that won her over, but eight months later, we started dating,” he continues. “I proposed to her in July 2015 while taking her on her first trip to New York. We were married a year later.”
The couple had two wonderful weddings, both steeped in tradition – the first in China in June 2016, and the second in Flat Rock, North Carolina, in July.
The China wedding was in Bella’s hometown of Chuxiong City, Yunnan. “It was a truly amazing experience!” remembers Corey. “Bella and I brought a dozen of our closest friends from China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, to attend the ceremony and reception – we all met in [in the nearby city of] Kunming and chartered a bus to travel to Chuxiong together.
“The night before the ceremony, Bella’s relatives decorated her parents’ house with the traditional “Double Happiness” Chinese symbol that is representative of a prosperous marriage. Her aunts and cousins sewed seeds into a red silk quilt and invited her young nieces and nephews to jump and roll over the quilt – a traditional Chinese blessing for fertility.”
The festivities were all carefully planned and carried out in the traditional Chinese manner, beginning in the morning on the day of the ceremony.
“We arranged a motorcade to take me and the guests to her parents’ house,” explains Corey. “I was wearing a red Chinese-style silk jacket called Tangzhuang, Bella was wearing a red silk dress called a Qipao.
“The first part of the ceremony is to ‘find’ the bride,” he explains. “She’s locked in a room, and her bridesmaids made me and the groomsmen perform challenges and ask questions in order to unlock the door and win the bride. Some of the ‘feats’ I had to perform were singing a song in Chinese, correctly guessing which of 10 lipstick marks on a piece of paper were Bella’s lips and eating Oreos filled with wasabi. Once I succeeded in completing the tasks and ‘found’ Bella, I had to then find her parents locked in another room and formally ask them for permission to marry her. Fortunately, they agreed.”
From there, about 50 family members, close friends and out-of-town guests gathered for the Chinese marriage ceremony, which was officiated by one of Bella’s father’s best friends who is also a renowned English teacher in the city.
“Bella and I formally bowed to her parents and members of her immediate family and served them a ceremonial ginger tea,” says Corey. “Her parents gave a speech welcoming me to the family and giving us their blessing. Then, Bella and I had to perform the same ceremony with my parents, who were waiting back at the hotel. This symbolizes both families formally accepting our marriage.
“Bella says she most cherishes the part where we bowed to our parents,” says Corey. “During that part, her father read a speech that was written by her late grandfather. He passed away in late May, just a month before the wedding, but he had prepared the speech in advance. After he died, Bella’s parents found the speech in a drawer in his house. It was an incredibly touching moment for the family.”
After the wedding ceremony, the couple went on a photo shoot in the “Yiren Ancient Town” district of Chuxiong, which is decorated in the style of the Yi People, one of Yunnan’s ethnic groups. Bella’s family is not Yi, but the majority of the city’s population is.
That evening, there was a dinner reception in a hotel ballroom. “About 500 guests attended, but it could have been more – so many people showed up that they had a ‘spillover’ room for the extra guests!” says Corey. “The wedding party had a Western-style ‘walk-down-the-aisle’ entrance with music, flower girls and ring bearers. Bella and I gave speeches, and so did my dad and Bella’s father.”
Next came a toast, and then dinner. As guests enjoyed dinner, Bella and Corey greeted their guests at each table, toasting and visiting. The night ended with a fun karaoke session. “The wedding in China was an amazing cultural experience for all of us!” says Bonnie Cooper, Corey’s mom.
The wedding celebration then moved overseas from China to the United States. “The U.S. wedding and reception was held at Kenmure Country Club in Flat Rock.” says Corey. “Rabbi Rachael Jackson of Agudas Israel Congregation in Hendersonville officiated the ceremony.
“The U.S. wedding was originally planned to be outside, but it started pouring rain and we were forced to move it indoors,” remembers Corey. “But just before the ceremony, the rain stopped and a huge rainbow appeared, so we hope it’s an auspicious sign for our marriage. My wife likes to say, ‘If you can see the rainbow you have to get through the rain first,’ so that’s always been true for us.
“We signed a special ketubah written in Chinese, Hebrew and English,” says Corey. “For the traditional Jewish ceremony, we used a chuppah that my aunt Robbin and cousin Jessica also used at their weddings. And I was wearing a tallis that belonged to my late grandfather and a kippah [yarmulke] from my bar mitzvah. My four cousins held the four sides of the chuppah.”
“The chuppah, which was hand-woven by my sister, Robbin, was made 34 years ago. It’s now a family heirloom,” adds Bonnie. “The wine was poured into a kiddush cup given to Corey at his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in Memphis. Corey had also worn the same tallis at his bar mitzvah, it was his maternal grandfather’s, who received the tallis at his own wedding as a gift from his father-in-law (my grandfather).”
Special attention was given to every detail of the event including at the reception after the ceremony where about 75 family members and close friends enjoyed dinner and dancing. “All of the decorations for the wedding reception, including the bride’s bouquet, centerpieces, napkin rings and chair decorations, were all handmade out of pearls by Robbin,” says Bonnie. “The shards of glass [from the conclusion of the wedding ceremony] will be kept in a keepsake photo wedding frame, a gift from me and my husband, Alan, Corey’s dad.”
“The U.S. wedding was intimate,” adds Bonnie. “The maid of honor and best man – close friends of the bride and groom – traveled from Hong Kong. It was their first time in the U.S. The parents of the bride came from Yunnan, China, and it was also their first time in the U.S. They do not speak English, so the best man acted as an interpreter and also translated the father-of- -the-bride’s welcome speech.”
The happy couple now enjoys living and working in Hong Kong, navigating their new life together as newlyweds. Remarks Corey, “It’s exciting, challenging, and a constant quest to improve each other’s lives, compromise, listen, and cooperate as we grow together.”
“The first part of the ceremony is to ‘find’ the bride,” he explains. “She’s locked in a room, and her bridesmaids made me and the groomsmen perform challenges and ask questions in order to unlock the door and win the bride. Some of the ‘feats’ I had to perform were singing a song in Chinese, correctly guessing which of 10 lipstick marks on a piece of paper were Bella’s lips and eating Oreos filled with wasabi. Once I succeeded in completing the tasks and ‘found’ Bella, I had to then find her parents locked in another room and formally ask them for permission to marry her. Fortunately, they agreed.”
From there, about 50 family members, close friends and out-of-town guests gathered for the Chinese marriage ceremony, which was officiated by one of Bella’s father’s best friends who is also a renowned English teacher in the city.
“Bella and I formally bowed to her parents and members of her immediate family and served them a ceremonial ginger tea,” says Corey. “Her parents gave a speech welcoming me to the family and giving us their blessing. Then, Bella and I had to perform the same ceremony with my parents, who were waiting back at the hotel. This symbolizes both families formally accepting our marriage.
“Bella says she most cherishes the part where we bowed to our parents,” says Corey. “During that part, her father read a speech that was written by her late grandfather. He passed away in late May, just a month before the wedding, but he had prepared the speech in advance. After he died, Bella’s parents found the speech in a drawer in his house. It was an incredibly touching moment for the family.”
After the wedding ceremony, the couple went on a photo shoot in the “Yiren Ancient Town” district of Chuxiong, which is decorated in the style of the Yi People, one of Yunnan’s ethnic groups. Bella’s family is not Yi, but the majority of the city’s population is.
That evening, there was a dinner reception in a hotel ballroom. “About 500 guests attended, but it could have been more – so many people showed up that they had a ‘spillover’ room for the extra guests!” says Corey. “The wedding party had a Western-style ‘walk-down-the-aisle’ entrance with music, flower girls and ring bearers. Bella and I gave speeches, and so did my dad and Bella’s father.”
Next came a toast, and then dinner. As guests enjoyed dinner, Bella and Corey greeted their guests at each table, toasting and visiting. The night ended with a fun karaoke session. “The wedding in China was an amazing cultural experience for all of us!” says Bonnie Cooper, Corey’s mom.
The wedding celebration then moved overseas from China to the United States. “The U.S. wedding and reception was held at Kenmure Country Club in Flat Rock.” says Corey. “Rabbi Rachael Jackson of Agudas Israel Congregation in Hendersonville officiated the ceremony.
“The U.S. wedding was originally planned to be outside, but it started pouring rain and we were forced to move it indoors,” remembers Corey. “But just before the ceremony, the rain stopped and a huge rainbow appeared, so we hope it’s an auspicious sign for our marriage. My wife likes to say, ‘If you can see the rainbow you have to get through the rain first,’ so that’s always been true for us.
“We signed a special ketubah written in Chinese, Hebrew and English,” says Corey. “For the traditional Jewish ceremony, we used a chuppah that my aunt Robbin and cousin Jessica also used at their weddings. And I was wearing a tallis that belonged to my late grandfather and a kippah [yarmulke] from my bar mitzvah. My four cousins held the four sides of the chuppah.”
“The chuppah, which was hand-woven by my sister, Robbin, was made 34 years ago. It’s now a family heirloom,” adds Bonnie. “The wine was poured into a kiddush cup given to Corey at his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in Memphis. Corey had also worn the same tallis at his bar mitzvah, it was his maternal grandfather’s, who received the tallis at his own wedding as a gift from his father-in-law (my grandfather).”
Special attention was given to every detail of the event including at the reception after the ceremony where about 75 family members and close friends enjoyed dinner and dancing. “All of the decorations for the wedding reception, including the bride’s bouquet, centerpieces, napkin rings and chair decorations, were all handmade out of pearls by Robbin,” says Bonnie. “The shards of glass [from the conclusion of the wedding ceremony] will be kept in a keepsake photo wedding frame, a gift from me and my husband, Alan, Corey’s dad.”
“The U.S. wedding was intimate,” adds Bonnie. “The maid of honor and best man – close friends of the bride and groom – traveled from Hong Kong. It was their first time in the U.S. The parents of the bride came from Yunnan, China, and it was also their first time in the U.S. They do not speak English, so the best man acted as an interpreter and also translated the father-of- -the-bride’s welcome speech.”
The happy couple now enjoys living and working in Hong Kong, navigating their new life together as newlyweds. Remarks Corey, “It’s exciting, challenging, and a constant quest to improve each other’s lives, compromise, listen, and cooperate as we grow together.”
