Traditional Chinese marriage is a ceremonial ritual within Chinese society that involves a marriage established by a pre-arrangement between families.

Chinese pre-wedding customs are traditional Chinese rituals prescribed by the Book of Rites, the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial (儀禮) and the Bai Hu Tong (白虎通) condensed into a series of rituals now known as the Three Letters and Six Rites (三書六禮). Traditionally speaking, a wedding that incorporates all 6 rites is considered a complete wedding (大娶, dà qǔ).

The six traditional rites involved in a Chinese wedding are as follows:

1.nacai (納采) - formal proposal

2.wenming (問名) - giving of the eight characters of prospective bride to the groom’s side

3.naji (納吉) - placement of the eight characters at the ancestral altar to confirm compatibility

4.nazheng (納徵) - sending of betrothal gifts to the bride and return gifts to the prospective groom

5.qingqi (請期) - selection of an auspicious wedding date

6.qinying (親迎) - wedding ceremony

The first step is the selection of auspicious dates (看日子) for the Chinese wedding, the betrothal and the installation of the bridal bed. A Chinese monk or a temple fortune teller selects a suitable date based on the couple's birth dates and times. Some may also refer to the Chinese calendar or almanac for good days. Even numbered months and dates are preferred, and the lunar seventh month is avoided as it is the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival.

After the selection of the auspicious dates, wedding details such as types and quantities of betrothal gifts, reciprocal gifts, bride price (娉金), and number of tables at the wedding banquet provided by the groom's parents for the bride's parents' guests are settled.

The betrothal (Chinese: 過大禮) is an important part of the Chinese wedding tradition. During this exchange, the groom's family presents the bride's family with betrothal gifts (called 聘礼 or pìnlǐ) to symbolize prosperity and good luck. Moreover, the bride's family receives the bride price (called pīng jīn or 娉金) in red envelopes. The bride's family also returns (回禮, huílǐ) a set of gifts to the groom's side. Additionally, the bride's parents bestow a dowry (嫁妝, jiàzhuāng) to the bride.

The selection of betrothal gifts varies by the ancestral regions of the bride and groom. In cases of intermarriage between various Chinese dialect speakers, brides typically follow the groom's ancestral traditions, not the other way around.

The gifts are often in even numbers for the meaning of in couple and in pairs. Food items include wine, cigarettes, tea and jewelry for the bride while jewelry includes gold earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. In some regions, they are also combined with some local food, such as peanuts and dates (in Chinese, the word for "date" is a near homonym of "early", while "peanut" is "birth"). This is normally presented on the wedding day, with the wishes of giving birth to a child early in the marriage. Candles and paper cutouts of "Double Happiness" are often seen on a wedding day as well.

The bride price, which is given by the groom's family to the bride's family, varies from region to region. In Southern China, the bride price is much higher than in Northern China.

After the betrothal gifts and bride price are negotiated and gifted, the families select a special date for the wedding. The wedding date is announced via invitations about a month earlier, and the invitations are distributed to the friends and relatives about one or two weeks before the wedding day.