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This is the People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau, investigating changes in people's livelihood where no one has seen it before. Pay attention to what you want to pay attention to and what you haven’t paid attention to, and investigate what you want to see and what you haven’t seen.
China News Service, March 25 (China News reporter Xie Yiguan) "I wake up earlier than a chicken, go to bed later than a dog, and I am so tired that I shed a layer of skin at the end of the day." That's right, I'm talking about a wedding!
Before the wedding, determining the wedding date, booking a hotel, finalizing the "Four Diamonds" of the wedding, taking wedding photos, etc. are enough to make the couple exhausted. On the day of the wedding, after a series of procedures such as putting on makeup, picking up the bride, blocking the door, and serving tea, some people said bluntly, "It seems like they have done illegal work for their own wedding."
As a result, some young people began to "organize" their weddings, and everything started from "simple".
Data map. Photo courtesy of Tonglu County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau
“This wedding only cost more than 6,000 yuan.”
"No getting up early, no wedding reception, no ceremony, just cooking." This is how Chunchun (pseudonym) described her minimalist wedding.
Since she and her husband are both "social terrorists", it has become their consensus to have no best man or maid of honor, no wedding celebrations, no wedding reception, and no tea ceremony.
In "The Four King Kongs", only the photographer and make-up were invited, and the emcee and videographer were removed; the clothing was only the wedding dress and toasting clothes, no dressing gown and Xiuhe; the wedding cars were all from relatives, and renting luxury cars did not exist... Chunchun Successfully made his wedding "complex and simple".
"I am a person who has no concept of marriage. To me, getting the certificate means getting married." Chunchun said frankly that the reason why she was willing to hold a banquet was so that the elders could recover their share of the money.
Before the wedding, Chunchun also held a wedding banquet in her hometown. "At that time, I communicated with my family about some ceremonies. I canceled them if I could, and made adjustments if I could."
In contrast, Xiao Liu's wedding was more streamlined. She chose to hold the wedding in her husband's hometown. Not only did she not have a wedding, no groomsmen and bridesmaids, and no ceremony, the makeup was also done by herself and her friends. "I just want everything to be relaxed and my relatives and friends to come happily to have a wedding banquet."
When everything tended to be "simplified", Xiao Liu revealed to reporters that the wedding only cost more than 6,000 yuan in addition to the wedding banquet.
The minimalist wedding held by Chunchun and Xiao Liu is also known as the "three-no wedding". It generally means that there are no traditional links such as motorcade, wedding reception, best man and bridesmaid, but the specific reduction is decided by the couple based on their own circumstances.
This form of wedding is becoming increasingly popular. Previously, the latest survey report on marriage and love opinions released by a marriage and love platform showed that young people are gradually becoming rational in consumption and are increasingly yearning for lightweight weddings.
The report also mentioned that the attitude of unmarried people, especially young people, towards the wedding ceremony is changing. There are an increasing number of wedding ceremonies held outdoors with relatives and friends, or small-scale party-type wedding ceremonies. More and more young people like to complete this life in a more relaxed and comfortable way in the city where they work and live. The most important "ritual".
Data map: wedding scene. Photo courtesy of Tonglu County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau
There was a wedding and the money for a BMW was gone.
"It not only saves the expenses required for traditional weddings, but also does not require too much energy to prepare for weddings. Young people's financial resources and energy are limited." When talking about the benefits of minimalist weddings, Chunchun said.
Xiaoyu (pseudonym), who recently had a wedding, deeply felt what it means to "spend money like running water". "Although the wedding ceremony is frugal, it is common to spend tens of thousands of yuan to hold a wedding. If you include a wedding banquet, it will be even more. The total cost is more than 200,000 yuan."
Tencent's Wedding Industry Insights White Paper (2021 Edition) once showed that the average cost of a wedding for young people is as high as 174,000 yuan, which is 8.8 times the average monthly income of the couple, and 42% of couples will exceed their budget in actual expenses.
The high cost makes weddings a "sweet burden" and encourages couples to "tailor-make their wedding arrangements."
In September last year, Huihui (pseudonym) walked into the wedding hall with her boyfriend who had known each other for nine years. She chose the "three-no wedding" and insisted on spending money wisely, which also allowed her to save a lot of miscellaneous flowers. pin. "For example, we saved thousands of dollars by not using a wedding car; we didn't have to pick up the bride, so we didn't have to pay for bridesmaid dresses, souvenirs, etc.; we didn't buy some unnecessary dowry items, so we saved a lot of money."
In addition to the objective factor of saving money, there are many subjective reasons why young people hold simple weddings.
"The fast pace and material abundance of modern society have made people pay more attention to personalization and simplicity. Traditional wedding forms are often cumbersome and time-consuming, while minimalist weddings are more in line with modern people's lifestyle and aesthetic concepts." Senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank Jiang Han told reporters.
The "2023 Young People's Ideal Wedding Report" released by a certain media shows that both men and women believe that door-blocking games, picking up relatives, toasting guests, etc. are unnecessary parts of the wedding.
In addition, according to Jiang Han, young people also pay more attention to the substantive meaning of weddings rather than the formality. "They tend to see weddings as the beginning of an emotional connection between two families and two people, rather than a ceremony to show off social status."
Huihui chose to spend the morning on her wedding day with her family and the afternoon with her friends. Some people question whether "three-no weddings" will lack a sense of ritual? She used her own experience to prove that weddings are not just about “subtraction”, they can also be about “addition”.
After the outdoor ceremony and dinner, Huihui added outdoor shooting, drinking and chatting, and lottery games. The atmosphere was very pleasant. "Now that I think about it, I feel great. Girls all hope to have an exclusive wedding in their own way, which will make it more unforgettable."
Behind the minimalist wedding, the conflict between two generations
Although behind the minimalist wedding, it is the embodiment of young people's pursuit of personalization, freedom, and simple and comfortable lifestyle. But looking at the entire wedding market, minimalist weddings are still relatively niche.
A staff member of a wedding company in Beijing told reporters that such minimalist weddings and "three-nothing weddings" are still quite rare in big cities. "In real life, most people are still willing to spend money on weddings. After all, weddings are a major event in life."
Data map. Photo by Cheng Shuwei
Since ancient times, Chinese people have attached great importance to weddings, including accepting, asking for names, accepting, accepting, asking for dates, and personally welcoming. The "splendid wedding" is engraved in the hearts of the older generation. From a parent's perspective, a wedding is not just a "little fight" between two newlyweds. It is also mixed with complex factors such as traditional concepts, family reputation, and relationship resources.
Therefore, if one is not financially limited, holding a minimalist wedding often involves pressure from family members and even strange looks from relatives. This also causes many newcomers to be unable to convince their parents even if they want to pursue simplicity.
Huihui's "three-nothing wedding" was obstructed by her husband's parents. "At that time, the groom's parents said that we should follow the traditional wedding ceremony, but we chose to stick to our own ideas and threatened not to do it, and planned to travel and get married." Later, both parties chose to compromise, and Huihui retained the basic wedding elements and A wedding reception was held.
But none of her friends could make their own decisions. "Because we live in a more traditional area, my friend's parents require that we must pick up the bride and worship God."
When Huihui told reporters about her wedding, she also emphasized, "You need to understand your parents' thoughts in advance and communicate more to gain their understanding and approval."
As an emerging wedding format, it may take some time for minimalist weddings to become popular, but its positive impact cannot be ignored.
"It will promote the diversified development of the wedding market and also spawn more innovative wedding services to meet the needs of different couples. In addition, with the rise of minimalist weddings, the wedding industry will also pay more attention to personalization Improve service and quality to attract more consumers." Jiang Han believes.
From a social perspective, extravagant celebrations of happy events are a bad habit and have been included in comprehensive management by various places in recent years. The rise of minimalist weddings meets the demand for frugal weddings and will also help to develop a good custom. (over)