Visualizing Marriage in Hong Kong Sidney C. H. Cheung In this article, I propose using bridal photography and wedding video-recording to gain a better understanding of the meanings of romance and the ideal life among young generations and to consider how relevant images of getting married shed light on the changing social life in Hong Kong. Bridal photography and wedding videor- ecording not only play the role of documentation but also reflect the social change and values among new married couples in the society. By examining packaged bridal photography and the process of wedding video-shooting, I propose to state how visualization brings subtle influences into the new dynamism of marriage as a ritual and reflects the changing social contexts in today’s Hong Kong everyday life. Photography was invented in the mid-19th century, as an optical apparatus for reproducing transient, fragmentary, and ‘‘realistic’’ images. For most of its his- tory, photography has been manipulated for the purpose of keeping authentic records. With their scientific characteristics, these photographs were supposed to be objective and concretely existing materials that we were able to trust. We also know, however, that the choice of being photographed can be highly subjec- tive and selective. As Pierre Bourdieu mentions: The distinguishing principle between that which is photographable and that which is not cannot become independent of the individual imagination: it remains the case that the ordinary photograph, a private product for private use, has no meaning, value or charm except for a finite group of subjects, mainly those who took it and those who are its objects. [1999: 170–171] Therefore, with these underlying distinguishing characteristics, we are, in fact, keeping records not of our daily lives but of particular occasions and events which we have tried to remember, or at least something we considered important and did not want to have ‘‘erased’’ or forgotten. In this article, I propose using bridal photography and wedding video- recording to gain a better understanding of the meanings of romance and the ideal life among young people and to consider how relevant images of getting SIDNEY C. H. CHEUNG is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests include visual anthropology, anthropology of tour- ism, heritage studies, indigenous cultures, food and identity. His published books include On the South China Track: Perspectives on Anthropological Research and Teaching [1998], Tourism, Anthropology, and China [2001], and The Globalization of Chinese Food [2002]. E-mail: sidney.cheung@cuhk.edu.hk Visual Anthropology, 19: 21–37, 2006 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0894-9468 print=1545-5920 online DOI: 10.1080/08949460500373819 21