Any time is marriage time in Taiwan
It was about 8:30am on a Monday morning and still a little bit groggy I was waiting for a train at Taichung station.
As I stood there in my shirt and pants, the sting of a lazy imprecise morning shave still tingling over my jawline I looked around at the ensemble of waiting passengers.
You had your rag tag adults, you’re weirdly dressed religious types, young people heading off either home or to shop in other cities and random little kids who’d stare at you with their mouths open.
On this particular morning out of the corner of my eye I then spotted something different. Across the platforms to the rear of the train yard was a woman in a white dress.
At 8:30am on a Monday morning this crazy woman was taking wedding photos at a public train station.
…really?
Not that I’ve ever been married but I imagine most people opt for something scenic when it comes to taking their photos. A local park or landmark are always popular choices.
Not for this bride though. No instead she chose the backdrop of a train station. Some old lady eating a sandwich, a hare krishna type guy (or girl?) with a farmer hat, a coke machine and a foreigner with a stupid grin on his face serving as the backdrop.
Try as I might I just can’t grasp the choice of location.
If I’ve learnt anything hanging around Taiwanese girls it’s that marriage is important. Dating is virtually non existent in Taiwan. You’re either deeply in love or you don’t know the person, there’s no middle ground. Likewise you’re either planning to get married, waiting to get married, already married or you’re married to your career and will just settle for the first lawyer or doctor who comes along after you’re successful.
For a guy who comes from the west where marriages are a dime a dozen it’s kind of a surreal experience to walk through an entire block featuring wedding planning businesses. Yet this is the norm in Taichung and other major cities here.
It’s just shop after shop of wedding dresses, wedding cakes and wedding ceremony planning services. Forget feeling obligated when you walk past the odd jewelry store with your girl, Taiwan takes that feeling to a whole other level.
The wedding customs are also a bit strange here too. When you decide to get married, apparently the bride has to go and buy a new bedsheet and gets to rearrange the guys furniture and replace anything she doesn’t like.
In return all the guy has to bring to the table is money, and lots of it.
I liken marriage in Taiwan for guys to buying a really expensive bedsheet along with a pushy interior decorator. That’s essentially what it seems to boil down to.
Additionally it’s not uncommon for wedding photos to be taken up to one year before the actual ceremony. I’d like to think that’s what this woman was doing at 8:30am on a Monday morning in a wedding dress… but being Taiwan who knows.
I wonder if you can get a refund if you decide to call the whole thing off inbetween taking photos and actually getting married…
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