Editor's Note: October is a wedding season in China. Weddings are becoming more costly for young couples these days. While the stress of planning a wedding may be a burden on newlyweds, it's good news for wedding planners who are reaping the benefits of a booming market, and even investors are trying to set their footprint on the market. 

The price of marriage

The more luxurious the wedding and the bigger the expenditure, the older the man tends to be. The greater the gap in age, the more the price goes up," said Claire Pan, creative director of Mocha Wedding Planner.

According to figures provided by Mocha, the average cost of a wedding in China is now 200,000 yuan, although the company has handled weddings that have cost a staggering 10 million yuan.[Full story] 

Wedding now a burden for newlyweds

Newlyweds spend nearly 150,000 yuan ($22,000) on their wedding in Shanghai, with 62 percent having their parents bear some of the cost, according to a recent survey.

The survey, conducted among 100 new couples in Shanghai by the Shanghai Morning Post, found 34 percent can't afford a wedding ceremony that costs on average 150,000 yuan, an expense that consumes three years' salary of an average white-collar worker who earns between 40,000 and 60,000 yuan a year. [Full story]  

Love, a many-yuan thing

Mothers to blame for rising home prices?

Want to marry your girlfriend in China? Better buy a house first. 

Facing ever-rising housing prices in China, only 18 percent of mothers told a recent survey they were willing to let their daughters marry men who only rent their homes. [Full story] 

'Forever' costs more

People are getting married later in their lives than they once did and they have savings available to pursue quality jewelry.

Those born in the 1980s and 1990s are more fond of wedding jewelry with easy-to-understand meanings.

Diamonds are hot this summer and prices have shot up 20 to 30 percent in recent weeks as more people have decided to invest in stones larger than one carat. And with advertisements for diamonds proclaiming "a diamond lasts forever", classic styles remain the most popular. [Full story]

White Collar Burnt Out

As China rockets towards its inevitable position as a financial and political giant, it has an almost vertical learning curve in bridging the gap between old work cultures and the demanding new pace.

Young professionals in China have to face issues on marriage, family, rising property prices and long commutes to work - problems all thrown up by rapid urbanization and equally rapid social changes. [Full story]

Big day becomes big business

The benefit to the economy as a whole providing a total boost of 1.500 trillion yuan.

This level of expenditure, which is growing by 20 percent a year, has spawned a whole new industry with an estimated 20,000 companies providing specialized wedding services from those selling cakes and diamond rings to dedicated wedding planning companies. [Full story] 

Slicing up the wedding cake

Future brides and grooms enjoy strong spending power. A survey showed the average expenditure on a wedding grew to 30,000 to 40,000 yuan in 2009 compared with 20,000 yuan in 2005.

The survey also found 88 percent of newlyweds paid for professional wedding photos, 49 percent hired a wedding planning company and 78 percent booked celebrations in hotels. [Full story]

In Beijing, there are 1,168 registered wedding planning companies and 4,650 registered wedding venues and service providers.

In 2009, direct consumption as a result of weddings exceeded 600 billion yuan and more money is pouring into the sector, Chinese media reports said. Spending on weddings last year increased by 40 percent compared to 2006 and is growing by about 10 percent annually.

Other sectors that benefit from weddings include the auto, property, decoration and tourism industries. [Full story]

In total, around $3 billion-worth of diamonds were sold in China last year, according to statistics from the Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China.

Sales of diamonds suitable for investment - usually those with a weight of more than one carat - are likely to increase by 40 percent this year, the association said.

Experts say the sharp rise in diamond sales is about people are seeing diamonds as a good investment.
[Full story]

International gold prices rallied to record highs on Friday, with spot prices nearing $1300 an ounce.

In China,the price of pure gold exceeded 340 yuan ($50) per gram. But consumer enthusiasm is just as high as the gold prices.

The peak season for gold sales coincides with the two national holiday. "And also it is wedding season, increasing gold demand." [Full story]

More couples marry at sea

An average of five couples line up every day for a company's photo journey service though a journey on the yachts charged a minimum 10,000 yuan ($1,475).
[Full story]

A travel agency has received requests for specialized itineraries from more than 100 clients this year, double what they had in the first half of last year.

The company's 300,000 yuan ($44,170) Italy trip offers: a helicopter pick-up at the airport in Florence, a romantic evening with a candlelight dinner, a villa accommodation in Ferragamo Village in the Tuscany countryside.
[Full story]