Taiwanese singer Jay Chou got married to his model girlfriend Hannah Quinlivan on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17) at Selby Abbey, an 11th century-old church, in northern England. The Christian celebrity couple's wedding was officiated by Rev. Abraham Ku, their pastor from Taipei New Life Church.
In an intervew with Christian Tribune Taiwan, Ku said the message that he chose to officiate Chou's and Quinlivan's wedding has the theme "The Truth of Love," in which he quoted 1 Corinthians 13 to encourage them to build their Christian familiy upon faith, hope, and love. He also blessed them to live within Christ and to build a marriage that receives God's favor in order to receive abundant grace and blessings.
Chou had meticulously planned his marriage with Quinlivan, 21, to start precisely on his 36th birthday at Taiwan time, midnight of Jan. 18th. In addition, he got a 20-member live orchestra to play music - one of which was a piece he composed for this occassion - during the wedding, according to Channel News Asia. The wedding was low-key with only the pair's parents and about 50 family members as well as friends in attendance.
Chou has told China Times that he chose to wed Quinlivan because "being together four four years isn't an easy thing." During their time together before marriage, Quinlivan had to adjust to his busy schedule, endured pressures from the public and media scrutiny, mainly for their age gap. "My mental age is about the same as hers and we just get along like children," he said.
Quinlivan shared in a testimony at her church that the story of the "Footprints" by the seashore has really inspired her. She said that she didn't always have faith, but "God's word has always been the source of her strength," which allowed her to trust God in his protection and to know that she isn't alone.
Prior to traveling to England to officiate their wedding, Ku told Christian Tribune Taiwan that besides telling the newly-wed couple "to have many children and descendants, and to increase in number," he exhorted the two to continue to live out a testimony of Christian love by loving the Lord and loving others, so that more people can see the Lord's goodness through their actions.
In a charity focused on children's welfare, Chou said that he is anticipating to raise "little replica" after marriage. He hopes that his children can be like him, being gifted in music. He added that he doesn't care if his child's grades are not the best, but as long as he has a skill that he is good at.
Chou and Quinlivan will host a wedding banquet in Taiwan around February or March, and another in Quinlivan's home country, Australia, where Quinlivan's parents live, at a later date.
"Congratulations to Jay Chou and Hannah Quinlivan on their marriage! Romantic, happy and full of love," said singer-actor Wang Lee Hom in a Weibo micro blogpost on Sunday.
"It was super dreamy. Congratulations to the newlyweds. Full of happiness," said singer-actress Christine Fan in a Weibo micro blogpost that same day.
Chou's company, JVR Music, released three pre-wedding photos on Saturday. The couple had travelled to France, Germany and the Czech Republic in October last year for the photo shoot. JVR Music also revealed that the couple had registered their marriage last year.
