Society

East regions trying out new 'wedding' ceremonies

By He Dan and Cao Yin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-18 08:25

BEIJING - East China's coastal regions are or soon will be trying out an innovative way of registering couples for marriage in ceremonies that bear similarities to a formal wedding.

Although the system is showing signs of being popular, it is too new to be adopted throughout the country in the foreseeable future, an official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs told China Daily last week.

Couples in Jiangsu province; in Qingdao, Shandong province; and in Shanghai can now go to local civil affairs departments to take part in wedding ceremonies, rather than go to such places simply to get a marriage certificate, said Liu Weihua, publicity official from the ministry.

"Tests of this type of marriage registration have been carried out for less than four months," she said. "It's too early to tell when this can be expanded throughout the country."

Chinese people, especially those in rural areas, see wedding ceremonies as being more important than marriage registrations, said Chen Wei, a lawyer specialized in marriage from Beijing-based Yingke Law Firm. As a result, many of them neglect to take the steps needed to make their marriages official.

Chen said couples should be encouraged to register themselves with civil affairs departments, since "that is the only legal way to enjoy basic rights during marriage life".

Her words were echoed by an unidentified official from the civil affairs department of Jiangsu province, according to a report by Nanjing-based Yangtze Evening News.

In adopting registration procedures that incorporate wedding ceremonies, the province is trying not only to persuade people to have their marriages registered but also to improve their sense of responsibility to their families, the official was quoted as saying.

Rather than simply gaining marriage certificates, couples will now have an opportunity to take part in an official wedding ceremony and to celebrate so monumental of a moment in their lives.

During the process, couples about to tie the knot will walk along a red carpet in formal attire, exchange vows under the national emblem, and receive marriage certificates, according to the report last week.

Family members and friends can witness the event.

Liu said the new service is an option that every couple can refuse to take.

When asked about cost, Liu said any fee will be set by local civil affairs bureaus.

The civil affairs bureau in Qingdao charges 1,200 yuan ($184) for one of the quasi-wedding ceremonies on weekdays and 1,400 yuan on weekends, Mirror Evening News reported.

More than 1,000 couples in Qingdao have taken advantage of the quasi-wedding ceremonies since late 2010, the report said.

Xia Yuting, a Beijing resident who changed her status to "married" on April 1, welcomed the attempt at making registration more "solemn and memorable".