My family has always been very proud of its Hakka Taiwanese heritage, so it was something that we wanted to hilight at our beachside ceremony. 

The rings that we used were two gold rings that my parents have saved for me and my future husband even before the day I was born.  To honor a Taiwanese Hakka tradition from my maternal side of the family, my grand aunt who introduced her parents to one another 27 years ago was present as ring bearer for us.  During the ceremony, our officiant explained that in Taiwan, gold is the color of luck, happiness, strength, and prosperity.  Further to the Hakka, circles symbolize harmony, union, and eternity because the Chinese word for circle sounds remarkably similar to the words for satisfaction and relationship by fate.  Before the ceremony we also received two wax paper umbrellas that are the specialty craft of my parents’ village in Taiwan and the traditional dowry given to Hakka women from my parents' hometown at their weddings.