Bib day looms, and the world is their stage

Li Xueyin and her husband in Paris. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wu, a British Chinese who has been a photographer in London for 15 years, says most Westerners are puzzled about the Chinese ritual of pre-wedding photos.

"Usually when we're out shooting, locals tend to come up and say things like 'Congratulations', and we have to explain that it's a photo shoot taking place rather than a wedding."

Wu says his business is growing, and many photography companies from China have approached it asking about the possibility of working together.

One of Wu's rivals is VM Studios, also in London, whose director, Sasa Jiang, says that besides taking photos the company has a huge selection of bridal and evening dresses and suits to select from.

Competition among pre-wedding photography companies in China is becoming stiffer as many are launching photographic offerings overseas to lure young couples.

Maldives, Phuket Island, and Bali Island Australia and Japan are the top destinations for pre-wedding photos from these domestic companies, some of which work with travel agencies to include air fares into photographic packages.

Liu Xiao, an event organizer in Beijing who is about to marry, says: "Personally, I am not into taking fancy photos. But of course I have to take what my fiancee thinks into account. We will of course have photos taken on the big day but pre-wedding photos have become a bit of a tradition for weddings.

"But I wouldn't want to have them taken abroad. The whole process is so painstaking and needs a lot of research and communications. I would rather go overseas just for travel or for the honeymoon and be relaxed and take casual photos."

Li Xueyin, a teacher at China University of Petroleum in Qingdao, says that after comparing the prices and quality of photographers locally and overseas she finally chose one of the latter.

She and her fiance had her wedding photos taken twice during a 20-day trip in February: one day in Paris and one in Dubai.

"We went to the Eiffel Tower twice, early in the morning and late at night, to get different backdrops. We had a very experienced French photographer, 70 years old, who has been in the business for more than 30 years. Our makeup artist also did a nice job and acted as our interpreter during the day."

Li says she paid 20,000 yuan ($3120) for the Paris shooting and 14,000 yuan for the Dubai shooting, the later of which was impromptu, she says.

"We didn't plan them. On the way back to China we had a two-day stopover in Dubai. When we got there, I was raptured with the exotic sights, and thought: 'Why not take some more wedding photos?"