From professional bridesmaid to entrepreneur, she witnesses the happiness of strangers
It is hoped that the industry will standardize service processes and marriage partner training in the future
In recent years, among young people, the sense of ritual in the marriage and love process has become more and more important.
In the most solemn weddings, the bridesmaids and the best man are supporting roles, but they are almost indispensable, and the selection of the bridesmaids and the best man for each new couple has become more and more particular: the zodiac signs cannot conflict with each other, and they cannot rob the newlyweds. The limelight, the best talent... In this market context, the service of leasing bridesmaids and groomsmen is quietly emerging.
This issue of "Youth School" interviewed the entrepreneurs of the marriage partner rental company and two marriage partner practitioners to tell their workplace stories.
standard
Stable and able to do things need a lot of talent
Xie Yuke is from Zhejiang, and she is currently a senior in school.
Naturally outgoing, she likes to travel and socialize, and she has traveled to more than ten tourist cities in China not long after she entered the university.
In October 2020, by chance, Xie Yuke was attracted by the information of "recruiting bridesmaids" when he was applying for a job on a part-time platform.
"It was a wedding held in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. I was just about to go home. The hotel was only 30 to 40 kilometers away from my hometown, and the red envelope was more than 1,000 yuan." Xie Yuke remembered that it was her first time for Strangers as bridesmaids.
In addition to the more than 1,000 yuan red envelopes promised in the early stage, she also received a lot of red envelopes when she helped the bride "block the door" at the scene. After this trip, she earned 2,600 yuan.
"This part-time job can not only make money, but also allow me to play everywhere. It can also expand my social circle and learn about local customs and marriage customs. Why not do it!" Xie Yuke said.
Pack up and set off, arrive at the destination on the first day to communicate with the bride, get familiar with the wedding pick-up game the next day and carry out the rehearsal, and sometimes need to carry the bridesmaid to give a speech... After more than a year, Xie Yuke participated in a total of 40 wedding.
She told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily that the first Hangzhou Xiaoshan wedding she received was the one that she earned the most, and the commission for each order was related to the employer's conditions. Excluding occasional travel expenses, most of the orders she received were 1,000 yuan. to 1500 yuan.
"He is 1.5 to 1.74 meters tall, good-looking, stable and able to do things, and has a lot of talent." Xie Yuke introduced that these are the criteria for brides to choose bridesmaids. "Sometimes bridesmaids are too good-looking, and they will steal the limelight." At the same time, when they are professional bridesmaids and groomsmen, they also need to be careful not to reveal their identities. "Sometimes even the groom doesn't know that we are professional bridesmaids." Xie Yuke said.
comprehension
A career that can witness happiness
Before becoming a professional bridesmaid, Xie Yuke had been a bridesmaid for his family four times, and later, a professional bridesmaid 40 times.
She said that many marriage details can be glimpsed at different people's weddings.
Xie Yuke sighed that love is fully reflected in the details, "Some grooms come without panic when confronted with questions from the master of ceremonies, while others don't know much about the bride, and even answer the bride's favorite dishes and shoe size. Not come out; some grooms will take care of everything for the bride, taking care of the subtleties, and some newcomers will put on a bitter face at the wedding."
Gorgeous hotel lobby, dazzling crystal lights, soulful background music, clustered flowers... Once, these were the wedding scenes in Xie Yuke's dream, but now, she told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, instead of spending hundreds of thousands of cloth We invite distant relatives who only parents can name to hold the wedding from all over It's better to be realistic, what matters is how the person around you is, not how the wedding is."
"This is a career that can witness happiness. You can see the normal state of many families at work, such as the rural family in Guilin, the wedding of the returnee's five-year love and long-distance running..." Xie Yuke said.
change
Founded company to standardize marriage partner services
"A few days ago, our company had more than a dozen orders for '520', and we received a total of three or four hundred orders in May." Xie Yuke said.
In February this year, Xie Yuke and his friends officially developed the professional bridesmaids and groomsmen recruitment platform that they originally cooperated with into a technology company.
"There is no monthly salary, only dividends. From the first two years, the company's annual profit is about one million."
From a professional bridesmaid to an entrepreneur, even though she is a post-00, she explains the company's business model well.
"We recruited service providers among the part-time students who received orders for marriage partners, and the service providers built the company's drainage matrix on various social platforms, and attracted new people who needed marriage partner services through short videos, articles, pictures, etc. Young people who become marriage partners. At the same time, we provide service providers with an effective customer-oriented process, which has achieved the template of drainage and conversion.”
Xie Yuke also said that the company also recorded video training courses for marriage partners for young people who want to participate in marriage partner services, so as to standardize the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
On the applet, there is also an order process specifically for the needs of bridesmaids.
By filling in the order, the newlyweds who are preparing for marriage specify the height, weight, zodiac, region (some brides need bridesmaids in the same region to ease wedding anxiety), personality and other requirements for the bridesmaids they need.
Then, through the service account, it will send a push to the marriage partners who meet the requirements, reminding them to sign up.
After the registration, the newlyweds can freely choose their marriage partners. After confirming that the needs of both parties are matched and the time is matched, the newcomers and the confirmed marriage partners will be drawn into the group for detailed communication.
Xie Yuke concluded that there are many factors that make people choose to hire professional bridesmaids.
One is late marriage, and the best friends around the bride can no longer meet the rigid condition of being unmarried; the other is that they do not want to owe favors, and the bride cannot return the same favors to good sisters in the future; the third is that some regions have requirements for the zodiac signs of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, and the bridesmaids The zodiac sign of the best man cannot be in conflict with that of the bride and groom; fourth, the cost of inviting a good sister to the scene for a distant bride will be very high.
Talking about future career planning, Xie Yuke said that it is expected that the number of part-time marriage partner service personnel in the company will be increased to 40,000 in June this year. Industry standardization of occupations." On this basis, the company will develop a variety of businesses such as wedding makeup, photography, and celebrations, and create a comprehensive wedding service development platform.
Practitioners say
Professional best man: more standardized process and pricing
Xiao Yin is 22 years old and currently lives in Macau. He is a third-year student majoring in finance.
It is worth mentioning that he and Xie Yuke met at a wedding. He is now Xie Yuke's boyfriend. In his spare time, he also helps Xie Yuke manage the company together.
Xiao Yin told the Beiqing Daily reporter that at the beginning, he didn't know much about the industry. After seeing the recruitment information for the first time, curiosity drove him to try it out.
"The city where the wedding was held was in Haikou, and air tickets and hotel accommodation were included. I was curious, so I wanted to experience the feeling of being a professional best man, and I could also travel by the way." Xiao Yin said that his commission as a professional best man was 500 yuan- 1,000 yuan / field, and his daily work flow includes accompanying the newlyweds to participate in the wedding rehearsal, helping to welcome the door, decorating the wedding room, taking pictures with the bride and groom, participating in the family game, toasting, etc.
In addition, he has to help the groom to keep an eye on the time and see the process.
Xiao Yin felt that the best man should be careful and responsible, good at communication, and not stage fright.
Now, in the process of assisting his girlfriend Xie Yuke in managing the company's affairs, Xiao Yin has gradually formed a clear understanding of this industry.
"At present, the regional supply and demand of leasing bridesmaids and groomsmen is unbalanced. Some areas are oversupplied, such as Shanghai, while some areas are in short supply, such as some remote areas. This industry itself has development potential, which can solve the problem of late marriages. There are no unmarried candidates around to be their marriage partners. It can also solve the problem that it is difficult for girlfriends and brothers from other provinces to attend weddings under the background of the epidemic." Xiao Yin said, "But the service process and pricing need to be more standardized, and we will strive to make this industry more mature, standardized and professional. change."
When it comes to his family's evaluation of his career, Xiao Yin said that relatives and friends are more supportive of him, "My family has always respected my ideas, and they all agree with me to do some novel things that I want to try. Life is a constant process. process of experience.”
Part-time bridesmaids: Brides who have served have become friends
21-year-old Huai Huai (pseudonym) is a part-time bridesmaid.
Huaihuai is currently studying in Changsha, majoring in biopharmaceutical technology.
As for why she did not devote herself to the work related to her major, Huai Huai said that the work corresponding to her major is difficult, demanding, and does not recruit students.
In Huai Huai's perception, young people are now under great economic pressure.
"A sideline job like a bridesmaid is quite good. It is very suitable for girls to do, and it is very fulfilling for girls to make money to make themselves independent."
Huai Huai told the Beiqing Daily reporter that at present, she has been a bridesmaid twice in Changsha, earning 400 yuan once and 600 yuan the other time.
Huai Huai introduced the one-day process of the bridesmaid service: the first day of rehearsal, getting up at 5:40 in the morning on the wedding day and putting on makeup, then going to help the bride decorate the room, help the bride hide the wedding shoes, block the door, take a group photo on location, serve the tea, keep it Red envelopes, I have been busy until 12:45 noon, taking care of the bride throughout the whole process. In this way, a part-time job has ended satisfactorily.
And in October 2023, she will go to a wedding in Guiyang as a bridesmaid.
"The wedding was quite large and was held in a local five-star hotel. The bride chose 12 bridesmaids, and I was one of them. The commission was 2,700 yuan per person, and the round-trip air ticket was reimbursed." Huai Huai said excitedly.
When she first signed up, Huai Huai remembered that the bride had a lot of requirements for her bridesmaids, "required to be able to wear beauty contact lenses, to wear high heels, and to learn a dance..." Even so, there were still many applications under the recruitment information, "I There is Liwu, people who have seen me have a good impression of me, and I think a sweet smile is my biggest advantage." Huai Huai said with a smile, after a day's work, she often freezes her face, "We have to keep it up. Smile, and sometimes when the bride can't keep laughing, I'll smile at her and she'll laugh too."
Although there is still more than a year before the wedding, the bridesmaids have already gotten to know the bride, "We have a group, and the bride often discusses with us in the group which morning gown to choose, what to choose for a hand-carrying ceremony, and a bouquet of flowers. How to choose..." Huai Huai said that she herself is an outgoing and lively girl who likes to deal with others very much, and the brides she served before have become her friends now.
"I witnessed the most important moments in their lives. After being their bridesmaid, I felt a lot closer to the bride. I and they would often like each other in the circle of friends."
This group of articles / reporter Wang Jingyi
Coordinator/Chi Haibo