Unlocking value in wedlock

Wedding services are acquiring dimensions of a significant industry as matrimony-bound couples splurge

The aisle is covered with a black fishing net, the flowers blood 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 ancient trees and skeletons.

"This young couple likes the rock 'n' roll style and they wanted to be cool," says Yu Zheng, partner of Loveinwed Co Ltd, a medium- to high-end personalized wedding planner in Beijing that organized the wedding.

Top: brides at a mass chinese wedding ceremony in Fengjing township in Jinshan district of Shanghai; above: models in gowns greet visitors during the 17th Xi'an Spring Wedding Expo. Photos Provided to China Daily

She is a veteran of sorts in the wedding industry, which she entered a decade ago. Yu says young Chinese couples, particularly those born after the 1980s, are making more and more requests to have their weddings personalized. They crave "to be different".

Loveinwed organized about 300 personalized weddings last year. A regular wedding planner may organize several thousand a year, Yu says.

Zhang Yingjian, a researcher from ASKCI Consulting Co Ltd, says China's economic slowdown and the government's austerity campaign have had but a minor impact on wedding-related spending. In 2015, about 12.13 million couples entered wedlock, spending an average of 76,000 yuan ($11,725; 10,410 euros). Stated differently, China's wedding services market was worth more than 900 billion yuan by some estimates.

Cai Ling, who researches China's culture industry for CIConsulting, says that 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.

"With their incomes rising in recent years, people are willing to spend on celebrations," Cai says.

Wedding-related services now span a wide range. Whole new types of products and services have sprung up, offering innovation and personalization. Wedding banquets with custom liquors and wedding financing services are not uncommon, he says.

A typical wedding organized by Loveinwed could entail a bill of 50,000 yuan but "it is hard to give an exact number", says Yu. Spending reflects the personal taste, style and desires of the new couple, she says.

The craze for something unique has its roots in the lack of religious elements in Chinese weddings. Religion, in the form of vows, plays an essential part in weddings in the West, Yu says. In China, however, stress is on ceremony and celebration.

"Without personalized or individual elements, weddings in China would tend to become a routine where guests show up, hand over their gift cash, eat and chat," she says.

So, wedding venues offer exclusivity and character. Five years ago, five-star hotels or top restaurants were in demand. Now, people are interested in having weddings at private locations or clubs. "They dislike the idea of their wedding being held at the same time as three other weddings at the same hotel," Yu says.

"A wedding is no longer a lavish banquet to host people you are not familiar with," she says. "Matrimony-bound couples and their families want to make sure true love is shared with guests who matter."

New-age weddings have also spawned specialized services offered by set designers and others more familiar in the entertainment industry. "Their work gives wedding services a professional touch," Yu says.

So much so that many wedding planning agencies have been promoting the idea of weddings held at night in the North China market, dispelling a traditional belief that only second-timers wed after sunset. The custom of noon weddings in North China is slowly giving way to the concept of a dreamy night wedding, thanks to the spin of wedding planners seeking extended business.

That trend is spreading. The small wedding of Xu Zhen and her fiance surprised their friends because it was held at night at a leading club in Beijing.

It even had a theme - clashing colors. Purple, green and coffee colors collided, to reflect the newlyweds' clashing personalities: Xu the bubbly marketing whiz "clashing" with the stern-and-serious banker.

"We wanted our friends to relax throughout the day and come here at night just to enjoy a party," says Xu, 30. "The lighting and fireworks at night created a comforting and friendly environment. My husband and I first met at a friend's wedding. We wanted our wedding to offer similar opportunities to our single friends."

The wedding industry boom is expected to continue. According to CIConsulting, experts see the market hitting about 3 trillion yuan by 2020.

Yet, the industry could do with a higher number of prominent service providers, industry experts say. "Most of the wedding industry participants are very regionally oriented," researcher Zhang says.

Next, one-stop wedding services, online-to-offline platforms, countrywide chains and franchises are predicted to gain ground, helping expand the national market for wedding-related services, he says.

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/25/2016 page26)