Wedding boom comes as numbers line up for perfect day
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Forget the weather, the flowers and the bride's dress -- Oct. 10 looks like the perfect day for thousands of young Chinese who have set that date to tie the knot.
Such is the demand for weddings on Sunday that marriage registry offices across the country are opening, and early.
Oct. 10, 2010 (10/10/10) is auspiciously referred to as "shi quan shi mei," or "perfect in every way." As the word "shi" also means "10," many couples hope the numerical convergence will bless their union.
Government agencies in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and other large cities will open as usual to register newlyweds, despite it being the first day off since the end of the week-long National Day sojourn.
Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs is to open the doors of its marriage registry offices as early as 6 a.m. Sunday.
More than 1,200 couples have made reservations at the registry office in the city's Haidian Distrct, the most in a single day this year.
Gao Jie, 27, an office worker in a Beijing consulting company, made a reservation in early September with his girlfriend.
"Booking in advance was essential as we were told that hundreds of couples were going to register there Sunday. No one can register a marriage that day without a reservation," Gao said.
A native of the northwestern Shaanxi Province, Gao said they chose the special day because he and his girlfriend had been together for 10 years, since they were high school classmates.
"So this day is even more special for us," Gao said.
In the northern Tianjing Municipality, which has a population of about 12 million, more than 5,000 weddings are scheduled Sunday.
Cui Weixi, general manager of a Tianjin-based wedding organizer, "I Love Weddings," said his 40 staff had worked overtime everyday recently to meet the demand of 20 "shi quan shi mei" couples on Sunday.
The staff started work at 6 a.m., Cui said, and they usually discussed details of the big day with customers three times in advance, as well as a dress rehearsal.
At weddings, "perfection" can be symbolized in images of the moon, the number 10, or a 10-layered wedding cake.
Each wedding limousine would carry five brides at different times Sunday, said Cui.
Traditionally, wedding ceremonies in downtown Tianjin are held in the afternoon and those in the suburbs in the morning, so the staff and cars have time to travel between wedding venues.
Previous auspicious dates in the wedding calendar have included Aug. 8, 2008, (08/08/08), where the number "8" indicates wealth, and Sept. 9, 2009, (09/09/09), in which "9" carries the meaning of "eternity" when spoken.
On Sept. 9 last year, 19,132 couples registered to be married in Beijing, about 3,400 couples more than the number on Aug. 8, 2008, according to the Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs.
"On Sept. 9, 2009, the number of weddings was so huge that there was a great shortage of wedding limousines. In Tianjin, brides in wedding gowns were seen in the streets, holding bouquets, waiting for their wedding limousines, like they were hailing a taxi," Cui said.
According to Chinese custom, the bride must not get out of bed or step out of her room on the wedding day, until the groom comes to collect her, but such traditions are overlooked when hundreds of couples tie the knot at the same time.
Cui said couples planning to marry Sunday should have booked 18 months ahead to secure a wedding banquet and a fancy hotel.
However, he reminded couples that the date for wedding was "not a decisive aspect for a happy marriage."
"Couples should think rationally about their marriage before deciding to tie the knot, or else the 'perfect' date cannot bless them and divorce will be unavoidable," Cui said.
Choosing auspicious dates to get married is a time-honored custom in China.
Ni Meng and Lu Jing married on Oct. 10, 1982 in Tianjin. They chose the date for its "perfect" message, but people of their generation were also keen to tie the knot in October as the National Day falls on Oct. 1.
"It means our marriage is linked to the nation," said Ni, who will mark their 28th wedding anniversary with his wife, mother and daughter.
