By The Times | Britain |
Viola Hou, 29, and Simran Gill, 30, who both work in marketing for Unilever, were married on July 14, 2024, at Iscoyd Park, on the Shropshire border in north Wales.
Viola had always imagined getting married in a long, white traditional bridal gown. And she did. But she also wore a lehenga and a qipao as part of a three-day celebration that included British, Indian and Chinese ceremonies.
Born in Germany, Viola is of Chinese heritage. She grew up near Frankfurt and has studied in the United States and Hong Kong. Simran was born into a Punjabi family in Shropshire, studied in the Netherlands and has lived in Hong Kong.
Viola and Simran met at work when she joined the London marketing team at Unilever, the consumer goods company, in 2019. Her focus is marketing and innovation while his is sustainability. He had been described to Viola as fun and extrovert, so she was surprised to find him standoffish. He had fallen for her smile. “I was trying to be cool and suave,” he explains.
Simran’s façade soon dropped and they became friends. She went to his flat in north London to watch the TV series Game of Thrones. He then waited a few days before inviting her on a first date to a flea market by London Bridge, having only known each other for three weeks.
“Up until we got together we had never seen another Indian and Chinese couple,” says Simran. “There is a level of conservatism from people in both our cultures and, because it was unexpected, we had to help people understand our relationship.” Shared family values and a passion for food helped unite them.
On the Friday, they hosted an Indian pre-wedding party at Hadley Community Centre in Telford for 220 guests. Both sets of parents exchanged flower garlands, and Simran’s family draped a headscarf over Viola to symbolise that she had been brought under their care. There were dhol drummers, singing, dancing, and henna painting. Turmeric paste was rubbed onto the wedding couple’s skin.
On the Saturday, they had the Sikh blessing at Telford Gurdwara, which included the slow reading of holy scriptures and singing of sacred hymns. The Chinese tea ceremony followed that afternoon. Viola and Simran, in traditional dress, knelt to serve tea to their families in front of 120 guests. Viola’s parents provided beer from their home town, Darmstadt in Germany. To their surprise, her older brother had organised a performance of a Chinese lion dance.
Full story at The Times (Aug 24, 2024)
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