1. Introduction

1.1 Research background

From ancient times to the present, wedding is an important ceremony and a milestone in human's life. It is the reflection of marriage. All ethnic groups and countries have their own traditional wedding ceremony which is the inheritance path of their folk culture and also the ritual of their own national culture and education. Because of different human species, different environments, different living habits and other reasons, wedding customs of each nation are various. It is also true with China and America. Of course, the United States is a country with Western culture. Under the influence of different cultures between China and the U.S., wedding, as an important part of culture, have presented different customs.

In people's first impression, Western wedding is solemn, beautiful and romantic. It pays attention to showing a sacred and simple wedding which is called ”before god wedding”. However, Chinese wedding pays attention to showing a lively, touching and happy scene. It can be able to take full care of the personal feelings of the bride, the groom, friends and relatives and reflect the traditional Chinese culture. It is called ”front type wedding”. Different basis, purpose and concept of marriage causes differences between Chinese and Western weddings. Moreover, from the perspective of values, Chinese advocate collectivism while American advocate individualism.

1.2 Need of the study

Wedding culture has always been an important part of human culture. Chinese and Western cultures are the oldest, most different and most influential cultures of human beings. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to choose the comparison of wedding culture between China and the U.S. as the research direction.

Different basis of marriage, different purpose of marriage and different concept of marriage causes differences between Chinese and American wedding. Chinese culture is focused on Confucianism and Taoism. The basic proposition is humanism. American emphasize individualism. They respect individual rights and long for freedom.

With the rapid development of globalization and the deepening of contacts between China and Western countries, the two cultures of China and the West have begun to collide and touch more extensively. The study can help us understand other wedding cultures and clearly see more our own characteristics and shortcomings, and we can also have a deeper understanding of the reasons for the formation of the present situation of wedding culture in China. We can retain our own cultural characteristics while constantly absorb the strengths of others' culture to update our own culture's shortcomings.