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Chinese wedding tourism has been on the rise for the past few years. For Chinese millennials, overseas weddings provide a sense of individuality and freedom that is often unavailable at home. Unsurprisingly, this drive for unique wedding experiences results in a wide array of forms of wedding tourism, many of which diverge significantly from Western, wedding tourism trends. It’s certainly an unusual choice for a destination wedding. Mass weddings are often undertaken to save participants money on decorations and catering or as part of specific religious practices. Of course many Chinese seek to have personalized weddings abroad in dream destinations more in line with standard concepts of wedding tourism, with elaborate ceremonies for a single couple. Such ceremonies are often seen as face-gaining.
The online, face-oriented aspect of such weddings is one reason why perhaps taking part in a mass-wedding in Sri Lanka doesn’t represent much of a compromise for these Chinese couples. While they may not have had a unique, customized ceremony just for them, they still had an experience that helped their wedding ceremony stand out compared to peers. The remembrance of the event online and in photos afterward is more important than the ceremony itself. The high priority of social media for wedding ceremonies for young Chinese couples also helps to explain the wedding photo tourism. Some couples may not have their ceremonies abroad, but traveling abroad for the pre-wedding photos isn’t out of the question. This trend has led to the development of firms that sell packages, mostly founded by Chinese, in the destinations like London or in Greek seaside towns that not only take the photos but also arrange transport and provide wedding dresses and tuxedos. Read Original Article |
