Double happiness, the traditional byword for weddings in China, now
extends from the bride and groom to the companies cashing in on an
annual US$22 billion (182.11 billion yuan) industry.
Fuelling this boom in wedding-related goods and services are
couples ready to splash out between two and three years' savings on
their celebrations.
"It will be the most costly day in my life," admits bride-to-be Gao
Lei of her October 8 wedding in Beijing. "But I don't care, as long
as it's perfect. It's the most important day in my life."
Officially, Gao and her fiance Lin registered their union on
September 28. But as a Chinese tradition, a couple is not
considered married until they have survived a series of blowout
wedding-day banquets.
Given the cultural predilection with food, meals have long
dominated Chinese marriage celebrations. Yet, many of today's
urbanites are looking beyond the banquet for more unusual
memories.
Western-style celebrations are fast becoming the new tradition in
China's major cities, where couples usually spend US$2,420-6,040
(20,000-50,000 yuan), and sometimes even more, on their special
day.
Hoping to gate-crash the double-happiness party, Stanford
University-educated publisher Mini Kuo founded Xiyan Wedding
Company to launch the super glossy Hunli (Weddings) magazine,
China's first nationally distributed wedding magazine.
Kuo had been struck by the lack of bridal magazines in China,
despite the number of couples she knew who were disappointed by
predictable, expensive celebrations.
"In the US, a bride-to-be can flick through 150 bridal magazines to
look for inspiration," she said. "Here in China, there is little
information available."
It
is potentially a huge market, said Kuo, anticipating strong demand
for her publication.
"The Chinese wedding industry remains loosely segmented, with no
market leaders," she said.
Rival publishers are also trying to fill the niche. French bridal
magazine Oui, published by a Chinese partner, hit Shanghai
newsstands shortly before Hunli. Other titles, such as Shanghai
Bride and Beijing Guide for Newlyweds, are due out soon.
The Shanghai-based group 51jiehun.com - the Chinese name sounds
like "I want to marry" - backed by US$1 million (8.28 million yuan)
from Japan's Softbank Corp, runs a website, magazine and one-stop
wedding service shop.
"The competition will be intense," Kuo conceded, "but there should
be enough space for everyone in Shanghai, since the wedding
industry is far from mature, unlike other Chinese-speaking regions
such as Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. With rising living
standards, the market will only grow stronger in the future."
Besides the magazines, hosts of wedding ceremonies are growing
popular for wedding ceremonies.
Shi Kangning is one of Beijing's most popular emcees. He was first
invited to host a wedding by friends and relatives 11 years
ago.
Gradually, he became a full-time emcee, at around US$242 (2,000
yuan) per banquet, with a reputation of being able to make people
laugh and cry.
Now Shi has his own wedding company, named after himself, which
boasts it can provide everything, apart from the bride and
groom.
(China
Daily 10/03/2001)