China's back-to-back autumn holiday season this year is a boon for the wedding industry, but a headache for couples hoping to tie the knot during their vacation.
Two of China's national holidays fall over three consecutive weeks this year, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 9: the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival from Sept. 22 to 24 and the seven-day National Day break from Oct. 1 to 7.
Marriage registries, restaurants, hotels, florists, fireworks sellers and limousine hire services have been booked up over the period by young couples wanting to get married when all their friends and relatives are available for the celebrations.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar and fell on Sept. 22 this year, is supposed to be especially auspicious for newlyweds.
Also known as the Moon Festival, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, it is traditionally a period for family gatherings, while the National Day, on Oct. 1, symbolizes a new start.
"In Tianjin, a city of 12 million people, about 5,000 weddings a day will be held during the national holidays," said Cui Weixi, manager of the city's "We Love We Love" wedding ceremony company.
"As a result, it is difficult to book wedding venues. We normally start work at 6 a.m. every day and finish around 1 a.m. during this time."
Cui's company, with 50 staff, is booked to organize about 100 weddings during three-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays. Everyday,teams comprising a master of ceremonies, a photographer and a stylist shuttle between three or four events.
"At our busiest, we had a bride waiting in the street for the wedding car, which was booked for six or seven weddings that afternoon," said Cui.
For many Chinese who live and work far from their hometowns, a holiday wedding doubles as infrequent reunion with family and friends.
Shanghai bride Zhou Yu, 29, and her husband registered their marriage last year, but the ceremony has been planned for October this year.
"My husband and I decided to arrange the wedding ceremony during the National Day holiday so we could invite as many of our relatives and friends as possible to our big day," said Zhou.
Some young couples are celebrating in less traditional ways.
Ma Yanchao, 28, an auditor with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and his bride will celebrate at a country club during the National Day Holiday.
They plan a lawn wedding that is more like a casual party -- with a small carbon footprint. They invited 200 guests by e-mail and text message rather than with paper cards. They will have no expensive wedding cars.
"It will be a memorable moment to pledge our love with the blessing of family and friends, especially on the Moon Festival and the National Day," said Ma.
For others the significance of the dates is tinged with poignancy.
In Shifang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, one of the areas worst hit by the May 12 earthquake in 2008, a mass wedding of 99 couples was held on the Mid-Autumn Day.
The grooms or brides were veterans of the rescue and relief operation.
