This Access Asia updated report on the development of the wedding services market in China deals largely with ongoing developments in wedding gifting, flowers, catering, car hire and other supply services.
Marriage has remained a popular social institution in China despite the effects of the Cultural Revolution and the demands that fifty years of socialism and the role of working women in the Chinese economy. Between 1949 and 1980, weddings were largely simple functions in contrast to the extravagance that had been shown by richer Chinese in the pre-war years. Bride and groom invariably both wore everyday clothing, traditional basic foods such as cabbage dumplings and noodles were eaten and useful low cost goods were given as presents such as water thermoses, tea cups and blankets. Weddings during the Cultural Revolution were highly political and often used to stress equality between the sexes and partnerships between men and women. The modern form of the Chinese wedding ceremony began in the 1980s when people began marrying either in white dress or semi-formal suits. The tradition of being driven by car to and from the ceremony was instituted and companies putting cars at rent for marrying couples was instituted. Formal pictures were necessary. Currently China has the most weddings in the world of any country, which is not surprising given the population. Indeed mass marriage ceremonies are often featured in the press and on TV such as the 500 couple marriages that have taken place at the Great Wall. The mass wedding has now become a major event in Shanghai too with Rose Weddings and White Magnolia Weddings (the flowers being a theme at the ceremony). Beijing has also hosted a national mass marriage of 1,000 couples which featured a 20-gun salvo, balloons, confetti, vintage wine and huge wedding cakes. The state remains highly involved in the ceremony and an officer from the Marriage Ministry brings the stamped marriage certificate to pronounce the newly weds married. Women keep their family names and the government representative stands between the couple, bows to each and hands over the certificate. By the 1990s most brides in China’s cities began wearing more expensive white dresses and grooms started wearing more formal suits. With wedding photos considered essential weddings could cost nearly a half years pay for an office worker. Wedding cars had to be foreign, either Mercedes Benz or Cadillac. In general more western traditions had been incorporated into the ceremony. The cost of weddings has risen year on year in the 1990s with additional costs such as wedding confectionery, special cakes, wedding feasts, formal invitations have all pushed the cost up. Today it is not unheard of for Chinese couples to spend RMB 25-30,000 on their weddings with wealthier Chinese spending over RMB 10,000 and often now wearing traditional Chinese clothing. However, many traditional features remain in weddings and some are coming back. Increasingly couple look for auspicious days with lucky numbers and some consult astrologers and geomancers to ensure the right day for the ceremony. Therefore, certain days are busier than others for the wedding business in China.