By Casey Hall and Farah Master SHANGHAI/HONG KONG - COVID wasn't kind to wedding planners in China, where marriages are traditionally elaborate, expensive affairs, but the industry estimatedBy Casey Hall and Farah Master
"The number of marriages is falling and few are willing to spend a lot on weddings," said Yuan Jialiang, who ran a full-scale wedding planning business for almost a decade in Shanghai before switching to focus on wedding photography before the pandemic.There were 6.8 million marriages across China last year, 800,000 fewer than in 2021 and the lowest since the government began publishing the data in 1986.
Couples traditionally splash out on gold jewellery, elaborate decor and luxury venues but Frank Chen, from Chen Feng Wedding Planning in Shanghai, says few weddings this year had a budget of over 100,000 yuan . Jewellery companies Chow Tai Fook and TSL said they expect demand for wedding jewellery this year to return to pre-pandemic levels."It's just the COVID backlog," said wedding planner Xueyi, whose business in Xi'an and Shanghai has also seen a spike this year."Some of my clients who had bookings rescheduled have actually separated."The economic downturn has hit the middle class, and the youth, the hardest, resulting in high jobless rates and low household spending.
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