The year 2006 is widely recognized as a lucky year for getting married due to the "double springs" and thirteen months in the Chinese lunar calendar. As the number of registered newlyweds keeps surging in Beijing, newly emerged careers in the upward-trending wedding business also surface. The bridal secretary, wedding supervisor, wedding disc jockey... these vocations not only have novel titles but also solve every single worry of soon-to-be newlyweds.

2006 is "the year for marriage". Civil affairs departments estimate that more than 120,000 couples will register for marriage in Beijing this year, of whom more than half will hold wedding ceremonies. That is, over 60,000 pairs will step on the red carpet. "In terms of the most mature career-the wedding planners, at present there are only 500 to 600 in Beijing. At this rate, each planner has to handle 100 weddings, which will completely drain them," said Kang Ning, secretary general of the Committee of Wedding Service Industries under China Association of Social Workers (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee"). He considered wedding professionals in urgent short supply and the market shows a far greater demand for their services.

It is learnt that presently more than half of all wedding agencies can provide wedding planner service, while only a few of these companies offer wedding supervisors and wedding disc jockeys.

Highly qualified bridal secretaries are also in short supply. Those who know how a wedding should proceed and wedding customs and culture, who are keen observers of the bride's feelings and able to handle emergencies, are really "sought-after" on the wedding market. The Committee has trained more than 100 bridal secretaries through organizing training courses for these secretaries in recent years.