Ethnic Uyghur Ruxangul Mahmut, 33, married Li Yaxin, 29, a girl of Han ethnicity on September 18. Li met Ruxangul Mahmut while working in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in southwest China. 

Both cultures share the custom of lifting the bride’s veil. In the Han tradition, it’s the bridegroom's duty to do so. But according to the Uyghur tradition in Bohu County, in the south part of Xinjiang, it’s the bridesmaid job to do so after dancing toward the bride.  

Moreover, it is also customary for the bridegroom’s mother to kiss the bride before the new couple meet at the wedding ceremony. 

All photos by Li Fangfang