Waterside wedding customs (Taihu fishermen's wedding customs) are folklore items in the sixth batch of representative items of Suzhou's municipal intangible cultural heritage. The wedding customs of the waterside villages in southern Jiangsu are in line with the ancient etiquette of my country, including the "six rituals" of accepting the bride's proposal, asking for the bride's name, accepting the bride's marriage proposal, accepting the bride's betrothal, asking for the bride's date, and marrying the bride, but they also have the characteristics of waterside villages, which are more typical in the surrounding areas of Shajiabang Town in Changshu and Zhouzhuang in Kunshan. The wedding ceremony on the day of the wedding is the most representative of the characteristics of waterside wedding customs. In Shajiabang and Zhouzhuang, in addition to the sedan chair, a wedding boat must be used. The wedding boat is gorgeously decorated with two oars, and some have two oars on the bow. Because it is faster than ordinary boats, it is commonly known as a "speedboat" or "pond boat". The groom is dressed in a new outfit and takes a "speedboat" to the bride's house to marry with music and drums. The gifts are in plates, usually six or eight, and as many as sixteen. They mainly include fish, chicken, wine, pork legs, cakes, dates, eggs, etc. The groom arrives at the bride's house before noon and greets his parents-in-law in the main hall. The bride's family offers tea and "Xi Tuan" to entertain the groom. Before returning home in the afternoon, the groom goes to the inner room to say goodbye, listens to his mother-in-law's instructions, and returns to the hall to greet the bride's elders and children one by one. The bride's elders all give the groom a gift. After the wedding boat arrives, the bride begins to dress up. An important part is to cut her face, that is, to use thread to twist off the hair on her face. She does not shave before marriage. The bride wears a phoenix crown and a bridal robe, commonly known as "shang veil". Crying for the bride. After dressing up, the bride is helped out of the room by the bridesmaid, and then carried to the sedan chair by her brother. The bride and her mother both cry and wail, which is the custom of "crying for the bride". The more they cry, the more they cry. After the sedan chair is on board, it is placed at the bow. The bride changes into new shoes and is helped into the cabin by the bridesmaid. The old shoes cannot be taken away. There are also rules for the wedding boat to leave the shore. In Shajiabang, a pole must be used to paddle to the middle of the river, and the pole cannot be used to hit the water, which means not to drag things along and to be wholeheartedly in the husband's family. In Zhouzhuang area, when the boat leaves the bride's house, the pole cannot be used, and the bride's father must push the boat away. After the wedding boat leaves, the bride's family must scoop out a basin of water, which means that the daughter who is married off will never look back. One or two "dowry boats" will go to the groom's house with the wedding boat. The dowry includes bedding, basins and buckets, boxes and cabinets, copper and tin utensils, etc. Red eggs and dates should be placed in the toilet, which means to carry on the family line and have five sons pass the imperial examinations. When the "fast boat" returns to the groom's house, it must be rowed back and forth four times, commonly known as "rocking the boat". The rower takes the opportunity to show off his skills. When the wedding boat arrives at the shore, four firecrackers are set off first; the man's house also sets off four in a row in response. When the speedboat is about to reach the shore, the man's father-in-law ties a red ribbon around his waist, inserts two scales, carries a fish basket on his back, and carries two buckets of water. He rushes to carry two buckets of water before the speedboat reaches the shore and goes to the kitchen to celebrate the reunion, to show that the family is reunited and there will be surplus every year. When the dowry boat reaches the shore, firecrackers are also set off. First, one person carries the "food and clothing bowl", which symbolizes that there is no worry about food and clothing. Only after the dowry is placed, the bride is welcomed ashore. When the sedan chair arrives at the man's house, the bride is carried or carried in by the groom's aunt or sister-in-law. There are also sedan chair bearers who carry the bride into the central hall. When the sedan chair enters the door, the old husband and the old lady (the name for the groom's parents) must go to the kitchen to avoid it. After the sedan chair arrives at the central hall, the curtain of the sedan chair cannot be opened immediately. First, the bridesmaid must present three plates of cakes, peanuts and dates for the bride to taste, and then the bridesmaid must help the bride out of the sedan chair. The bride and groom stand facing outward, and under the presidency of the tea bearer, they perform the ceremony of worship in the hall, and the hall drummer plays festive music. The bride and groom hold the red and green handkerchiefs and are led into the bridal chamber by two married women holding red candles. The tea carrier sings wedding songs all the way, and two boys pave the way with "cart bags" all the way to the bridal chamber, which means passing down from generation to generation. After entering the bridal chamber, the newlyweds sit on the edge of the bed, which is called "sitting on the edge of the bed". After a while, the groom uses a scale to pick up the veil for the bride, which means "satisfying and getting what you want". When the veil is lifted, the bride's beautiful face is exposed. There is a table of food in the bridal chamber, and the bridesmaids serve the newlyweds while picking up food for them, saying happy words and singing wedding songs. Because there are flower candles on the table, it is called "eating flower candles". The bride is supported by the bridesmaids to go out to the central hall, and the newlyweds kneel down to their parents, which is called "taking care of them". Then, according to seniority, the bride and groom must pay their respects one by one. The elders give the bride a gift. After the greetings, the newlyweds pay their respects to each other and then return to the bridal chamber. A banquet is held to entertain the bride. Some families will hold a flower banquet before entertaining the bride, and the bride and groom will offer food and wine to their parents. After the bride is done, the newlyweds will return to the bridal chamber. On the bridal chamber table, flower candles must be lit, and two women or two men must watch over them. The flower candles must not be extinguished all night, and the candles must not sleep all night. In addition, there are customs such as entertaining the uncle and making trouble in the new house on that day. The next day, they must return the feast and worship their ancestors. On the second or third day, the bride and groom return to their parents' home. The wedding customs in the water village have a strong Wu cultural feature. For example, the music played by the hall drummers is mostly Jiangnan music. The host and bridesmaids ask for good luck in Wu dialect. Wu songs are used to sing wedding songs. The Su-style furniture in the bridal chamber, the New Year paintings and embroidery used to decorate the bridal chamber, etc. are all treasures of Wu culture and art. The wedding customs in the water village have a long history and are a living fossil of the ancient marriage history of the Jiangnan water village. From these customs that have been preserved to this day, we can get a glimpse of the ancient marriage status and social and cultural development trajectory, which has historical and cultural value.