Entrepreneur Mario Ho, son of the late Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, and Chinese supermodel Ming Xi held a lavish reception on Sept 28.
The couple, who registered their marriage in 2019, held the reception in Macau for friends and relatives who were unable to attend their wedding ceremony in France in early June.
Among those in attendance on Sept 28 were Ho’s family members, including half-siblings Deborah, Pansy and Florinda, as well as celebrities such as Hong Kong actress-host Liza Wang, Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming, Taiwanese actress Joe Chen, Hong Kong singer-actor Leo Ku and Macau-born singer-host Maria Cordero.
The reception featured an autumn oil-painting theme, with the venue decorated with thousands of flowers.
Mario Ho wore a black tuxedo, while Xi, whose real name is Xi Mengyao, donned the wedding gown she had previously worn at their wedding at Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey in France.
Ho, 31, joked about the height difference between himself and Xi, 37, in his speech at the reception. Xi is 1.78m tall, while Ho is said to be about 1.73m tall.
“Even though I’m half a head shorter than her, I still pursued Xiao Ming (Ming Xi),” he said. “From falling in love to getting married and having children, I am truly very grateful to all of you who have come to witness our wedding.”
He expressed his gratitude to his wife for her companionship and support, and promised her parents to love and protect her forever.
Ho and Xi have a six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. He is the youngest son of Stanley Ho, who died at the age of 98 in May 2020, and his fourth wife Angela Leong, 65.
Leong, a businesswoman and Macau legislator, also praised Xi in her speech at the reception.
“My son Mario has met such a kind and wonderful Xiao Ming,” Leong said. “I am truly grateful that Xiao Ming is willing to become part of our extended family and has brought us two lovely little ones.”
Mario Ho and Xi began dating in 2017 after they took part in Chinese reality dating show Mr Left Mr Right.
The couple made headlines in May 2019 when he proposed to her at a Shanghai mall decorated with 99,999 roses. They registered their marriage about two months later.
Joe Chen, who took part in Chinese celebrity reality show Up Idol with Xi in 2016, shared photos and videos from the Sept 28 reception on social media.
“Ten years ago, we were filming Up Idol and one of the stops was in Tengchong, Yunnan province,” Chen wrote. “We sat together chatting idly one afternoon, guessing what kind of people we would meet in the future and wondering who would walk into our lives.
“Ten years on, we’re very happy. Best wishes to my friends and may you stay happy forever.”
Chen, 47, is married to Malaysian artist Alan Chen, 37, whom she met on Chinese reality dating show Meeting Mr Right II in 2019. – The Straits Times/ANN
