BIG BUSINESS
The wedding industry in China is big business. On our recent trip to China, we returned to Qingdao where we lived in the late 80s. Qingdao is known as a favorite tourist location for both Chinese and foreigners. the city has beautiful architecture, nice beaches and mountains over looking the Yellow Sea.
Late one afternoon, we strolled along the beach front and were amazed to see dozens of brides, grooms, photographers, their assistants, hair and make-up staff and tourists. On the one beach, I counted about 40 couples having their wedding photos taken amidst the beautiful scenery. There are six major beaches in Qingdao so there must have been many, many more photo shoots taking place that afternoon.
Dave Ramsey, our son, joined the fun and took photos and video of the couples and their photographers. Some seemed to be enjoying themselves and others looked like they wanted be somewhere else!
The sea and setting sun made a beautiful scene.
The wedding dresses were varied and some unusual. A few of the brides' dresses did not fit properly and had cloth sections pinned in the back where the zipper would not close. Staff worked out of the back of mini-vans. The couples would actually change outfits in the van. Then they would sit on small stools by the van while their make-up and hair were fixed.
To get dramatic settings, the couples along with their photographers venture out on the rock outcroppings. One of the poses of this couple had the groom with a small video camera taping his bride's photo shoot.
As we left the beach, we came upon this group from a province south of Qingdao. The six of them had driven a long way in one van. LeRoy joined them for a group photo.
