Travel operators, event managers, flower suppliers tap into the booming trend of spectacular nuptials

Marriages may be made in heaven, but it is equally important that the wedding, the first step toward a marriage, should be held at memorable locales like overseas resorts or picturesque coastal cities of China－that is the consensus among well-heeled young couples taking the marital plunge, which has spawned a whole new industry of sorts.

And even older, married couples, who have witnessed the People's Republic of China evolve over the last 70 years, are lunging for a slice of fun.

As if to make amends for missed opportunities in the past, couples who have been married for a long time, are jumping on the trendy-wedding bandwagon. Those with enough money and leisure time are tending to hold celebratory second weddings, or anniversaries.

That's because back when they married for the first time, they were restricted by limited savings and fewer travel opportunities due to the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of that time. Back then, after the reform and opening-up in 1978, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and radios were the "big four" electronic products that average households sought.

Things have changed. Last year, the number of couples aged 50 and above who made second-honeymoon trips jumped 30 percent over a year ago, according to Qunar, one of the largest online travel agencies in China.

"The major consumers of destination weddings are those born in the 1990s. Unlike the previous generations, the millennial group tends to hold wedding ceremonies that are more innovative and romantic. Traditional and complicated wedding forms can't meet their new demand," said Neil Wang, president of consulting firm Frost& Sullivan in China.

Agreed Yang Guanghui, director of tourism and vacation department at Qunar. "This summer, we doubled the number of travel products related to honeymoon and wedding photo shoots that we offer online, prompted by rock-climbing demand from young couples, and favorable visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies of many countries and regions that aim to attract more Chinese tourists."

Exotic locales make for creative wedding ceremonies, perfect wedding images and videos, which are considered essential in the age of social media.

Churches, beaches, lawns, cruises, greenhouses, attics, warehouses, old cinemas, even deserts－all are par for the wedding-venue course these days.

And event management companies and their cousins are making hay while the nuptial sun shines, offering additional activities like scuba diving, parachute jumping, rock-climbing, cliff-crawling, round-the-island helicopter flights.

Popular wedding destinations include tropical islands such as Bali, the Philippines, Maldives and Fiji. European countries like Greece are popular too. In China, couples prefer to tie the nuptial knot in places like Hainan, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, industry insiders said.

This year, demand for customized weddings and honeymoon trips surged by 70 percent over last year. Local in-depth tours and high-altitude experiences have become the most-sought-after choices, according to Qunar. (It, however, did not disclose the actual number of orders.)

From June to mid-August, bookings of domestic and foreign resorts for taking wedding photos surged about 80 percent year-on-year. In particular, the number of orders to take wedding photos abroad soared by 140 percent year-on-year, a research report from Qunar found.

In the United States and some Western countries that emphasize the "first look" (the moment the bride and the groom see each other for the first time in their wedding dress and suits on the wedding day, a few hours before the ceremony), specialist photographers command a premium for their services.

In China, young couples usually prefer to take a bunch of wedding photos wearing three to four different outfits before the wedding ceremony. The images are usually displayed at the ceremony but first shared via wedding invitations. Thus, shoots for wedding photos have developed into a lucrative, professional business activity in recent years.

The trend received a shot in the arm when a group of film stars and online celebrities in China held their weddings in different themes overseas. This influenced their fans into making similar choices for their own weddings, in a bid to appear more attractive among the public.

Bali island in Indonesia has been wearing the crown of romantic island in recent years, with its visa-free policy and sound and convenient facilities to hold weddings and honeymoons.

Most-sought-after Bali venues are a few local churches and the private beaches of luxury hotels. Auspicious dates are usually booked more than half-a-year in advance. Occasionally, one venue holds several weddings on the same day, industry reports said.

Destination weddings also afford more intimacy, exclusivity and privacy than a wedding at home or hometowns. At destination weddings, marrying couples usually invite their parents and fewer guests. Sometimes, the cost of a destination wedding is comparable to that of a traditional large-scale wedding at a luxury hotel in China.

Hotels, which provide space, catering and accommodation for most weddings, cost about half of the total spend on destination weddings.

Last year, sales revenue of the wedding tourism market in China reached 1.5 trillion yuan ($211 billion), and the compound annual growth rate in the past five years was 13.6 percent, Frost & Sullivan said.

In the next five years, the sector is seen expanding, but the high growth rate will moderate, hampered by a large number of young Chinese choosing to get married late or stay single, the consultancy predicted.

With incomes growing, people are cultivating better tastes. The pursuit of beautiful and high-end lifestyles by many young Chinese, and demand for customized weddings have intensified steadily in recent years.

One effect of this trend is the blooming of the business of flowers. Floral creations now play a critical role in weddings.

Beijing-based luxury flower retailer Roseonly, founded in 2013, has become an essential part of the weddings of many film stars and new wealthy upper-and middle-income young couples when they hold weddings overseas.

The florist sells premium roses imported from Ecuador in South America, and its marketing emphasizes that its roses can be only sent as an expression of love to one person in a lifetime.

Roseonly operates nearly 50 stores in 24 cities in China. It is also the biggest flower vendor on Tmall, Alibaba's online marketplace.

Depending on different requirements, Roseonly provides customized bridal bouquets, guest gifts, and helps decorate wedding venues. The cost may range from several thousand to millions of yuan.

The busy months for weddings are May and October usually. Besides roses, it also offers exotic flowers such as Chinese herbaceous peony, hydrangea, oncidium orchid, and eucalyptus globulus.

"We are bullish on the growth potential of providing tailored flower decorations to weddings. Wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime major event, and people usually attach great importance to it, they hope their weddings can be unique and memorable," said Lalics Lei, marketing director at Roseonly.