海角大神

Each year, about in China get married. In the past, it might have cost them hundreds of dollars for a simple family gathering. To get hitched, all you did was have a standard ceremony and buy some furniture or maybe a car for your new family.聽

But in recent years, China鈥檚 urbanization has driven up prices and standards, creating a boom in the country鈥檚 wedding planning industry that now amounts to at least $80 billion, .

And the market, on pace to expand to $120 billion in coming years, is showing no signs of slowing, according to .

Nuptials in China were once considered a primarily filial obligation, and have since expanded to keeping up with the聽nouveau riche. Modern couples now are often expected to stage a big to-do, as well as purchase their own home and car. Some zanier wedding rituals, like taking , have even caught the entertainment of an international audience.

But looking at the numbers, putting on a big wedding 鈥� even a basic one 鈥� appears to be no easy feat. An average wedding in China today can cost anywhere upward of $20,000, not far from the average American wedding, which usually costs around $25,000, .

In urban settings, the price for a Chinese wedding can be as high as about $32,000, a wedding planner .

But the rise of most incomes in China isn鈥檛 keeping pace with the spiraling costs of weddings, . The annual disposable income for an average Chinese person is still only around $3,300.

For some Chinese, the obligation to stage a big wedding is coupled with an overall pressure to marry 鈥� and to do so by a certain age. Despite the fact that the average age for an urban woman in China to get married is 27 鈥� the same as in America 鈥� women past that age are often

As a result, some Chinese couples 鈥� eager to wed more quickly and simply 鈥� are turning to more affordable wedding options, with regaining popularity and social acceptability. These wedding celebrations are still bigger than intimate family affairs of decades past, but 鈥渓etting everyone have fun is the most important thing,鈥� a bride .

Another more rebellious option that鈥檚 emerged in recent years has been to participate in 鈥渘aked weddings,鈥� where couples shun the more traditional notion that they must own a house and a car to before they can seal the deal. For some couples, even wedding rings have become optional.

Zhu Heng and Jia Zhiwei are one couple who had a "naked wedding." They waited years for housing prices to drop in Beijing before deciding to just go down to the registry office.

"Every girl wants a romantic wedding, but happiness is more important than anything else," Jia told the Monitor. "I just want the two of us to be together."聽聽

Despite all the buzz, not all couples that marry in these 鈥渘aked weddings鈥� are doing so in defiance of social customs, said Zhu, a real estate consultant.聽

鈥淚 feel pretty guilty about it, but it's a question of reality,鈥� he said about not being able to provide his bride a home of their own. 鈥淎 lot of my generation understands that it's just not possible."