Once the groom and his posse have successfully invaded the bride's house, the challenge is by no mean over. First he has to find her shoe, which the bridesmaid has hidden. Joan's was hidden under her dress; somewhere a modest fellow like Nick would never think of looking! Thus, it was only through more bribes that we learned its whereabouts. In the first photo, you can see Nick fitting said shoe to his Cinderella.

The next step is taking off the veil, kind of like unwrapping the lolly. For reasons which are not altogether clear, this is done by using a fan (which Nick promptly got stuck in Joan's beaded headdress). The second photo captures Nick and his brother, open mouthed in admiration; or at least looking very silly.

Once the bride has been unwrapped, it's time for the more serious side of things. The bride is formally leaving her parents' house, so it is time to show respect to her parents by serving them tea and lollies. The third photo shows this happening. Joan's Mum was not yet crying, but she was close! The groom serves to his father-in-law, and the bride to her Mum.

It is physically impossible for any Chinese ritual to go more than about two minutes without there being food involved somehow. Dumplings (kind of like tortellini, but with no sauce and a much wider range of fillings, and always, always made by hand) are a big feature, and used to commemorate almost every occasion, and as comfort food. These dumplings, served after the tea ceremony (made by the bride's family) are called "Guen Dan Jiaozi", or "Boot the daughter out of the house dumplings". They are a poetic race, the Chinese. The bride and groom are supposed to share the dumplings, but Nick is a bit dense, and it took four or five tries until he finally got the knack of what is supposed to happen; he puts the dumpling in his mouth and Joan eats the other end. We don't have a photo of that happening here, because Joan thinks she looks prettier in this photo. And who is Nick to argue?