Chinese Wedding Boom in 2006

One hundred and fifty thousand couples are expected to get married in Shanghai in 2006.

That is 50% more than last year. A wedding craze sweeping China is causing a boom for the country's wedding photography industry.

Wedding planners are not the only ones benefiting from the current boom.

Paris Bride photo salon is one of several hundred wedding photography studios in downtown Shanghai.

Next year is not considered a good year for marriages

In modern Chinese culture, it is common practice for acouple to spend an entire day prior to the wedding itself having theirpicture taken.

At this salon, it is currently necessary to book yourphoto shoot half a year in advance, with some couples even bookingbefore they have set a wedding date, according to deputy generalmanager, Qiu Yujuan.

"What we are doing to accommodate the current weddingboom is offering a range of new themes including our most popular,Queen Katherine - where the couple have their photos taken in periodcostume against an ancient royal background."

Others have themselves superimposed on false backgrounds to make it look as though they have visited faraway shores.

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