A bridgegroom (C) helps his bride off a sedan in a traditional wedding ceremony in Beijing in this February 11, 2007 photo. [Xinhua]

Many Chinese graduates are becoming wedding emcees nowadays due to the boom of the wedding industry in the recent years.

According to Beijing-based newspaper Morningpost, emcees can earn between 500 yuan to 3,000 yuan for each ceremony, and there are often two to three weddings each month. So a host can get at least 1,000 yuan per month, almost as the same as the salary of an entry-level white-collar worker.

First starting out as a part-time emcee earning 400 yuan each time, Xie Jun is now famous in master of ceremonies' circles thanks to his masters' degree from Communication University of China. He hosts two or three wedding ceremonies every month and makes 1,500 yuan to 2,500 yuan for each one. During the Golden Weeks (May Day and National Day holidays), he emcees six to seven ceremonies those periods.

"Although I don't think my academic background doesn't mean much, it impresses many newlyweds and their parents, for very few emcees have high degrees," Xie says. He believes his knowledge of both Chinese and English languages benefits him greatly.

For example, he can skillfully put the couples' names into Chinese poems and couplets to give the wedding banquet a more cultural flavor. Moreover, he can be a bilingual host in wedding ceremonies that involve foreigners.

Wedding service companies also want to hire emcees like Xie to set them apart from their rivals. For instance, Beijing Hongrui Liangyuan Wedding Service Company is paying more attention on a candidate's creativity and planning ability, which are more likely possessed by high-degree holders, rather than those basic requirements, such as being talkative and good-looking.

Another company specializing in nuptials called Goldenmike has a training class for prospective wedding emcees, which is receiving a flood of applications from graduates and postgraduates with majors in broadcasting and education.

Generally speaking, most masters of ceremonies graduated from high school or junior college, so those with bachelors' or masters' degrees are in greater demand. In wedding service companies' brochures, they often list the emcee's degrees below their names.

These personable hosts have a bright future since many young couples, especially white collar workers, prefer high-degree emcees, believing they can guarantee the quality of the wedding festivities.

A bride, surnamed Qi, said, "I wish my wedding emcee to have good education background and not say anything unsuitable during the ceremony."

Her fianc¨¦ echoed her opinion. "If the emcee has high degree and wonderful reactive ability, I will definitely employ him."

According to the Beijing Marriage Registration Department, there were more than 170,000 newlyweds last year, the most in the last 25 years. And it forecasts over 100,000 couples will tie the knot in Beijing this year.