一场充满艺术气息的婚礼

发表时间：2025-07-16 12:42

一场充满艺术气息的婚礼

我想每一个父母最幸福和最期待的事情就是看到自己的孩子成家立业，特别是那些历尽艰辛把孩子抚养成人的单亲父母们，在看到孩子终于找到了真爱, 步入了婚姻的殿堂，那一刻，他们的内心一定会像我一样，既高兴也充满了感慨。7/5/2025, St.Louis, Missouri的 Margaret Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden 内阳光明媚，鸟语花香。下午1pm, 40多名亲朋好友见证了一场浪漫而温馨的婚礼。女儿结束了长达五年的爱情长跑，终于和她艺术学院的同学喜结连理，成就了一段美好的跨国姻缘。这是我人生最快乐的一天。看到女儿终于找到了一位懂她，爱她，而且英俊聪慧的如意郎君，我的内心无比的快乐。我挽着女儿的手臂，缓缓地穿过花丛，跨过小石桥，走向凉亭，将女儿亲手交到她的夫君手里，并送上了我的祝福。

虽然女儿的婚礼没有像亚马逊董事长贝索斯（Jeff Bezos) 的婚礼那样的奢华，但它充满了艺术气息，浪漫温馨，而且充满了爱和友情。婚礼的嘉宾来自各个行业，有大学的教授，有在读的研究生，企业的高管，艺术专业的学生，电影制作的编导，和在高科技领域工作的工程师。。。。。。使婚宴成为了一场文化交流的盛宴。我有幸近距离地与生物学专业的教授，神经与心理学专业的博士，艺术专业的人士，还有其它与高科技行业不同的人士进行了深入的交流。这也是我第一次如此广泛地接触高科技行业以外的人士。不像以往，我一直在硅谷工作，接触的人大多来自高科技的领域。婚礼分为两个部分。第一部分是1pm在中国园林式的花园内进行的证婚仪式，新郎新娘交换戒指，各自朗读表白誓言；第二部分是3pm的晚宴，则在下榻的旅馆附近的Boundary Event Space 举行。晚宴包括鸡尾酒欢迎仪式，西式晚餐，和最后的切蛋糕和舞会。这与我以往所参加的中式婚宴，在教堂内，或在豪华的中国餐厅摆上几十桌海鲜大餐有很大的不同。晚宴在我的演说后正式开始，整个过程浪漫温馨，笑声，音乐声，与杯碗的碰撞声此起彼伏；教授，学生，各界人士在音乐声加入到肢体舞动之中，让晚宴仿佛成为了一个快乐的海洋。

女儿和丈夫都毕业于SAIC（Shool of Art Institute of Chicao), 都对艺术有着浓厚的兴趣，他们的婚姻是中西结合的模式。所以女儿希望婚礼充满艺术气息，并包含有中西文化的元素。为了筹办这场婚礼，他们花了大半年的时间，从婚纱的制作，婚礼场地的选择，邀请函的设计，旅馆的安排，晚宴的预定，到菜单的选择，都经过精心安排与制作。婚礼举行的中国园林式花园 Friendship Garden 是来自中国的设计师Pan Yong的杰作。花园内所有的建筑材料则来自中国的南京。置身其中，你能感受到浓厚的中国文化气息，特别是中国苏州园林设计的元素：太湖石，假山，流水，小石桥，凉亭，水池。这让人仿佛置身于一幅美丽的中国山水画卷。这是在美国难得看到的一处完整的中国式园林设计。而旅馆和晚宴的场所则具有典型的西式风格。尤其是下榻的旅馆：Cheshire,充满18世界欧洲古典气息。旅馆内有大量的珍贵收藏，如绘画，陶瓷，彩色玻璃，置身其中仿佛来到了法国的凡尔赛宫，或者是大英博物馆。旅馆房间的设计更是具有特色，每个房间都以以某位艺术家，作家命名。女儿的婚纱则是她与在艺术学院的同学花了几个月的时间完成的，从每一朵花，布料，款色，色彩都经过精心挑选和制作。整个婚宴仿佛一场艺术和文化交流的盛宴，也是女儿多年艺术学习的一个整体展示，特别是婚礼结束后，女儿将与夫君踏上另一个领域的探索，开始她在东部5年的生物学博士的学习。

My daughter’s wedding day speech

Hello everyone! It is my honor to have all of you here tonight! Thanks for coming to my daughter and Nico’s wedding, to witness their most important and happiest moment in life. Just like July 4 is the most important day for the people in the US, July 5 will become the memorable day for this young couple for the rest of their life. From now on, they will begin a new life as a married couple to pursue dreams, to share happinesses, and to face challenges together.

Tonight before the party begins, I would like to say something to show my appreciation and also tell a little story about this young couple. First,thanks Nico’s parents for raising Nico as a handsome, caring, and intelligent young man by giving him good education and love. I also would like to thank the professors at SIU who have given my daughter so much inspiration and support, so she has learned a lot in the past two years without being afraid of exploring new ideas even though she was totally new to biology before she came to Carbondale. Now She has been accepted as a PhD student in the field of plant biology by Penn State University. I also like to thank the students at SIU and the friends who have worked, studied, and had fun with my daughter, so she has never felt bored or alone here in Carbondale for the past two years. Of course, I would like to thank Nico for giving my daughter so much support and love, so she can have many dreams and become the happiest woman in the world.

As friends and teachers, I think that you all know how my daughter and Nico were doing at school or at work. But as a mother, I have had the opportunity to watch them growing together. During the 5 years of their relationship, they always supported each other, explored and studied new things together. Their relationship lets me understand that true love is based on a caring heart and common interests; that true love can change the impossible to the possible, and that true love can let the hopeless person to feel the hope and let the sick one to become healthy. You always see them together everywhere: up in mountains, on beaches, in art galleries, at restaurants, or in antique stores. Nico often showed up in my daughter’s lab or green house at school to help her watering or planting plants even though he is not a SIU student. He encouraged my daughter to move from Chicago to Carbondale to pursue her biology dream, and he is going to the east coast in August with my daughter for her Ph.D study. On the other hand, my daughter becomes Nico’s nutritionist and best chef by cooking healthy and delicious food for him. Also she would share with Nico what she has learned and her new discovery in the experiment at school. Every time she came back to California shopping with me, she always looked for food Nico likes and brought a whole luggage of food or gifts to Nico when she left. I am happy that she found her true love. Just like a Chinese saying: if you truly love someone, you would bring out the best part of your potential. Maybe that is what has happened to my daughter and Nico. Since they met, they have achieved a lot and have become better people. I believe that they both will have a bright future and happy life together.

As the first generation of Chinese American and single mother, life was not easy for me in the beginning. But I always encourage my daughter never giving up dreams and working hard for her future. Now seeing her has a higher goal and has a family, I am happy and relieved.

In the end, I wish all young students here also find your true love and have a successful school year ahead. Thanks all again for coming! Enjoy the great food and party here tonight.

1, Friendship Garden at St. Louis, photography by Hunter Maass