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Wedding-style marriage registration in the works

By Zhao Chunzhe (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-04-12 10:32

Couples-to-be may soon walk down the aisle in gowns while getting their marriage licenses at civil affairs bureaus, instead of just grabbing quick registrations, the Yangtze Evening News reported on Tuesday.

A pair of newly weds display their marriage licenses at a civil affairs bureau in Beijing in this file photo.

Wedding receptions have long been overvalued compared with the registration process in China. To change that, civil departments are considering wedding-style registrations at civil affairs bureaus, the report said.

Witnessed by parents and relatives, under the national emblem, licenses will be distributed to the rhythm of music while couples vow to love each other for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. The whole process is estimated at no longer than 10 minutes. The good news is it's all free.

The new wedding style is to be offered as an effort to enhance people's family responsibility. But when it will be formally introduced is not known, according to an official at the civil department in East China's Jiangsu province.

"It has to be done in big enough rooms to hold such ceremonies for all couples in need, and proper arrangement within the family, as the guest list will be a lot shorter than usual," the official said.