Bridesmaids-for-hire business booms

The practice of hiring bridesmaids for weddings is becoming increasingly popular, as more people recognize it offers a solution to the dilemma of finding suitable attendants for brides away from home while eliminating the awkwardness of social indebtedness.

Professional bridesmaids offer their services on various online platforms, including social media apps. The bridesmaids advertise their reliability, attentiveness and the high level of coordination they can offer on the wedding day.

One advertisement read: "I am available to be hired as a bridesmaid. I have average looks so I won't steal the spotlight from the bride. I promise I won't embarrass her on the wedding day and I can be the bride's best friend, secretary, caretaker, assistant, bodyguard…"

The bridesmaids are advertised as being experienced in assisting with various wedding tasks and ensuring a smooth wedding day.

They need to be able to establish an assumed relationship with the bride, such as former colleague or high school or university friend. During the wedding, they refrain from engaging in extensive conversations and focus solely on executing their assigned tasks.

Typically, the hired bridesmaids arrive a day early to help with venue decoration. On the wedding day, their responsibilities include properly managing the bride's emotions, safeguarding various items, organizing wedding games, assisting photographers with makeup touch-ups for the bride and accompanying the bride throughout the event.

Xie Yuke, 23, became a professional bridesmaid after graduating from university in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Xie built her bridesmaid team by attracting people through social media platforms and taking recommendations from friends and relatives. It now has about 100,000 people on its books, with a ratio of about 100 bridesmaids to every groomsman, and they have played roles in thousands of weddings across China.