Overseas option has growing appeal for Chinese

In addition, the number of guests invited to overseas weddings is necessarily limited, she says, so in general the overall cost will end up being about the same as for a wedding in China.

The costs, generally excluding air fares, of most of the weddings held overseas planned by her company are borne by the groom or his family, she says.

Lei Tao says the prices of overseas wedding ceremonies his company organizes can vary greatly because of how customized they are, and there are no fixed group programs similar to those that traditional travel agencies offer.

A small ceremony in a castle in Denmark over three days can cost 80,000 yuan for a couple alone, while the same thing in Queenstown, New Zealand, will cost 20,000.

For Vivienne Li and her husband, the cost for the 50-guest wedding in Bali was about 500,000 yuan including fees for the local wedding planner, filming, photography, banquets, all guests' accommodation.

That included $450 for the services of a rain stopper.

"The constant rain just before the wedding day worried me greatly," Li says. "Fortunately someone advised me to get a rain stopper, the efficacy of whose services were virtually guaranteed," she says, beaming.

"Thanks to the rain stopper, performing rituals such as burning incense behind stage, we had a perfect, rain-free wedding."