Society

Love hurts as wedding costs soar

By Li Xinzhu (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-31 08:29

Shanghai - Weddings are not only about love; they're also about money.

To celebrate this important event in their lives, members of the post-80s generation in Shanghai are facing huge costs, which are rivaling those in the United States and Europe, a recent survey has revealed.

A model dresses up at Shanghai Wedding Expo on Dec 18, 2010. [Provided to China Daily]

The survey, conducted by Shanghai Chan Link International Inc, a Shanghai-based wedding service provider, found that in line with the growing affluence of the Chinese people, the cost of a middle to high-end wedding ceremony in Shanghai is as high as 400,000 yuan ($61,000).

"I want to have the best wedding I can afford," said 26-year-old Gao Jimin, an office worker in Shanghai who planned to spend at least 400,000 yuan on her wedding in October. She said she had already spent about 7,000 yuan on her wedding dress, and planned to spend 300,000 yuan on the banquet and another 130,000 yuan on rings.

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"I know the cost of my wedding is a bit higher than the average, but it is the event of a lifetime," she said. "I am willing to pay for it."

However, not all younger people can afford a luxury wedding.

"A wedding is an expensive event, but we have to do it anyway," said 29-year-old fashion designer Xu Juncheng, who will also get married in October.

Xu spent a year planning his wedding. "We went to every wedding fair we could to get the best price," he said.

Xu said the budget for his wedding is about 120,000 to 150,000 yuan, which includes almost everything from photos, to the banquet and the honeymoon.

"Several sections in the wedding ceremony are required by our parents, who set standards such as hotel classes. We only decided on details," he said.

In China, a complete wedding includes photography, the marriage ceremony, the banquet, dresses, wedding rings and honeymoon. Sometimes a new apartment and car is compulsory, depending on the couple's financial circumstances.

An anonymous consultant at Wedding Story, a Shanghai-based wedding service company, told China Daily that the cost of a wedding is growing every year.

"We've arranged a wedding that cost as high as 800,000 yuan," she said. "The couple hosted a banquet for at least 1,000 guests. A table of 10 guests cost 10,000 yuan on average.

"Usually the parents pay for the wedding. Few younger people can afford to pay for their own weddings.

"Also, in China a wedding ceremony is largely a way for the couple's parents to demonstrate their financial status."

The consultant said although most young people prefer stylish weddings, the final decisions are usually made by their parents.

She also said the normal price for a wedding in her company is about 200,000 yuan.

"With wedding cars, rings and other small gifts for guests, 400,000 yuan is a reasonable price," she said. "We served more than 200 couples last year."