Two models in gowns greet visitors during the 17th Xi'an Spring Wedding Expo. The event took place in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on March 12 and 13. (Photo provided to China Daily)
The aisle is covered with a black fishing net, the flowers are bloody red. The bride at this medieval and gothic themed wedding is wearing a black-and-red gown, jewelry and a crown with an image of aging woods and skeletons dotting a lawn.
"This young couple likes the rock'n'roll style and they wanted to be cool," said Yu Zheng, partner of Loveinwed Co Ltd, an emerging leader in medium to high-end personalized wedding planner in Beijing that organized the wedding.
She is a veteran of sorts in the wedding industry, which she entered a decade ago. Yu said young Chinese couples, particularly those born after the 1990s, have acute requests to have their weddings personalized with their individual styles. They crave "to be different".
Loveinwed has organized about 300 personalized weddings last year. In contrast, regular wedding planners organize 3,000 every year, said Yu.
Zhang Yingjian, a researcher from the ASKCI Consulting Co Ltd, said economic slowdown and the government's austerity campaign had but a minor impact on the wedding-related consumption. Be it property market, automobiles, home renovation, decoration, jewelry, banquets, luxury products or honeymoon trips, every segment suffered a bit, but not much.
In 2015, about 12.13 million well-to-do couples entered wedlock, spending 76,000 yuan ($12,000) per wedding. Stated differently, China's wedding services market was worth more than 900 billion yuan.
Cai Ling, who researches China's culture industry for CIConsulting, said last year, the country's wedding industry's worth may well have exceeded 1 trillion yuan. China's 2015 GDP was 67.7 trillion yuan.
"The economic slowdown only had a minor impact on industries that benefit from wedding-related consumption. With their incomes rising in recent years, people are willing to spend on celebrations," said Cai.
Wedding-related services now span a wide range. Whole new value chains have sprung up, offering innovation and personalization in products and services.
Why, these days, wedding banquets with custom liquors and wedding financing services are not uncommon, he said.
A typical wedding organized by Loveinwed could entail a bill of 50,000 yuan but "it is hard to give an exact number", said Yu. Consumption reflects the personal taste, style and desires of the new couple, she said.
