Ceremony
Coming to our wedding? Here’s the details for our big day!
Don’t forget to RSVP. See you there!
Flights
Flights leave from Manchester, London and Zurich to Hong Kong. I recommend flying direct if possible, but if you do get a connecting flight I recommend a short leg first, then a long leg as an even split one can be rough. We also recommend you book your flight as a round trip as it ends up costing the same as a single, so you would pay double if you booked them as two separate flights.
The jet lag going to China can be fairly bad depending on your flight. You will be +6-8 hours, so will get tired early in the day for the first few days.
Due to the long trip and new places Anna and I have decided to organise a schedule for the 5-6 days leading up to the wedding. This will include, spending a few days in HK, crossing the border, spending a few days in Huizhou and then moving onto Longmen for the Wedding. This time will be from the 6th of November to the 11th (Wedding Day), but if you wish to come earlier and spend more time in HK we can make arrangements to meet you earlier.
Itinerary
Hong Kong (6th - 8th)
Anna and I will be in Hong Kong between these dates to meet people when they arrive, show them around and generally have a few nice days in Hong Kong. In that time we can enjoy some food, explore the city and see the sights. We of course don’t have to do everything together. You are free to join us for a day, meet up just for dinner, or spend the time finding your own way.
Once we know who is coming, we can make recommendations for hotels and areas. These you will have to book yourself.
Huizshou (8th - 10th)
We will aim to cross the border into China on the 8th of November. We would like to do this together to make things easier and also help alleviate any concerns people have. Once we know how many people are coming we can decide the best course for this, but it doesn’t need planning as it is a fairly simple procedure. The trip from HK to Huizhou is about 2 hours.
Huizhou is the city Anna and I worked in for the years we were at the school. It’s a lovely small city of 6m people (yes that is considered small/medium in china), but there is plenty to do there, and again we can decide what people fancy when we know who is coming and organize some fun activities, meals and KTV.
If anyone has further questions or requests for this part of the trip, then feel free to message me.
Longmen (10th - 12th)
On the 10th we will be making the journey from Huizhou to Longmen (1-2 hours) and again Anna and I will sort this part of the trip for people, along with things to do, places to see and where to stay. Longmen is considered the countryside in China and is famous for its hot springs.
We haven’t put together what to do here yet, but hopefully can visit one and if there is time maybe see rice paddies and ride scooters through bamboo forests, but we will see how it goes with time.
Wedding Day (11th)
On the 11th will be the wedding day. This will be divided into two parts. We will have the Chinese wedding part around lunchtime. This is where people come for a big meal and do the food part of the day. Then there will be some time to relax and rest. In the evening Anna and I have organised a party that will be more like a Western wedding party.
We will provide more information about this over the next few months with facts, dress-code and interesting things. So stay tuned.
After the wedding, Anna and I are looking to travel to Japan for a few weeks. We’re happy for people to come with us, or if you wish to see more of China, or go somewhere else we can also recommend or help organise some things for you to do.
Visa applications
Now comes everyone's favourite part, visas. This again is something we can provide more information on once we know who and how many people are coming, but is not the most pressing concern now. Here is some preliminary information though:
- British citizens do not need a visa to enter HK. I believe that is the same for any EU citizens.
- A visa is required for non-Chinese citizens to enter China (myself included). However, if you have a passport from these countries, there is a unilateral deal until the 30th of November where you are allowed to stay for 2 weeks without a visa: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
- The UK is currently not on this list, but I will keep this space updated if it does join the other nations currently enjoying this deal.
- This would be an ‘L-visa’, which is a tourist visa. Usually, you should apply for a visa 3 months before your flight, as this visa type requires a booked ticket and itinerary of sorts. It usually also requires you to enter within 3 months of your appointment/receiving a visa.
- In Switzerland, it takes about a week to get your visa processed. Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with the process in the UK. So you would have to check with the consulates in London or Manchester.
- You can find information about what is required here. Regarding (5) on the list, once it’s confirmed who will come and who won’t. Anna and I will prepare an invitation letter in Chinese for this part of the application and provide it for you.
- Those in Switzerland can follow the steps on this website to collect the documents and book an appointment from this website.
- Those in the UK can find the information on this page.