Designing big days

Practical matters

Zou Jiayi, founder of Do Private Wedding, takes a relatively practical approach.

"Weddings' price and scale don't reflect a couple's love," he says.

About 70 percent of his customers previously attended his former clients' weddings. Many became his friends.

"We send gifts to each other during festivals. I'm also willing to help them resolve marriage problems."

The planner based in Sichuan province's Zigong has organized weddings for the same groom three times.

The threshold for entering the industry is low, according to Zou.

"Many people think two workers, several pieces of cloth and some props are all they need," he says.

"But the effort that goes into a wedding is no less than that of a home renovation."

Zou incorporates elements related to the local culture in the ceremonies.

Paper lamps represent Zigong's status as a "city of lights". Crownblock shelves symbolize its history as a salt-production base, as the tool was used to drill brine from salt wells in the past. The curtains are adorned with calligraphic renderings of slogans miners shouted in the old days.

But he believes vows, rather than decor, are the most important part of a wedding.

"It's forbidden to copy lines from elsewhere," he says.

"Ninety-nine percent of weddings are similar. The difference is the individual stories of their love."

Contact the writer at chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn