The Chinese government decided to regulate elaborate wedding receptions and wild wedding pranks that have recently resulted in violence and to some extent sexual assaults. Government officials said weddings today are borderline wastefulness and tend to disrespect the solemnity of traditional Chinese values.
The ministry of civil affairs condemned the recent trends in Chinese wedding and instead planned to introduce specific guidelines on how to keep local weddings modest and in tune with the country's cultural beliefs and traditions.
Yang Zongtao, an official for the ministry of civil affairs, said the guidelines to be implemented will include how wedding ceremonies and receptions will take place and will also set a limit to the number of cash gifts the couple will require from their guests.
The looming crackdown happens at a time when there is a prevalent increase in wedding spending among younger Chinese couples. A report from ASKCI Consulting found that China's wedding industry is showing indications of swelling to as much as 1.82 trillion yuan this year, a big jump from the 1.46 trillion yuan in 2017.
A separate report from Hunliji, an online wedding service provider, said that 42 percent of couples who tied the knot in 2017 spend between 50,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan, 23 percent spent between 100,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan, while 15 percent spent between 20,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan. Couples who spent more than 300,000 yuan accounted for 5 percent of the demographics.
The report also found that couples from Beijing have the tendency to spend more than their counterparts in Shanghai.
A big chunk of the wedding budget, as much as 40 percent, went to wedding ceremonies. The rest, 60 percent, were divided among payments for photography, honeymoon, wedding planning, wedding jewelry, banquets, and car rentals.
The Chinese government has also decided to impose tougher regulations on local weddings due to the most recent controversies which spiraled from uncontrolled wedding ceremonies and pranks.
Just last week, a bridegroom was hit by a car while he tried to escape from a rough pre-wedding event where his friends tied him up and beat him with bamboo. A week prior, some bridesmaids were injured by broken glass when the bridegrooms tried to crash in a party for the bride. Using an ax, the bridegrooms smashed the door at the house of the bride to enter the premises.
Chinese weddings have also been subjected to worldwide backlash when reports emerged of about sexual harassments against the bridesmaids. Such acts usually take place during a part of the wedding party where bridesmaids are tasked to raise cash for the couple.
