Bib day looms, and the world is their stage

Liu Wenwen and her husband's pre-wedding photo in Santorini, Greece. [Photo provided to China Daily]

She paid the photographer 1500 euros ($1670) and the makeup artist 500 euros, she says. Earlier she had bought three bridal dresses on Taobao, the popular Chinese online shopping website, specifically for the photos.

"All the buildings are white, with blue roof tops, azure sky and water. ... Santorini was the place I had always dreamed of going to; there's no other place where I would like to have had my wedding photos taken."

Liu says local photographers were best equipped to know about the ideal locations, being aware of the local culture, so could take her and her fiance to special places, such as a local wine cellar rather than popular scenic spots that most Chinese tourists would go to.

Raymond Wu, director and chief photographer of JR Studio in London, which specializes in wedding and pre-wedding photography, says about 80 percent of his customers are Chinese, others coming from Asian countries including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar, and Brunei.

His company last year did pre-wedding photographs for 170 Chinese couples, he says.

"About 20 percent of those came directly from China just to have photos taken. The rest were Chinese studying or working in the UK.

"But this year, the number of couples flying over from China just for the photos has increased. They come from many different places, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Inner Mongolia. Most admire English culture, and some don't even speak English."

Among the most popular backdrops for pre-wedding photos in London are Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Thames Embankment and red telephone boxes, Wu says.

"But some young people come up with their own ideas, unusual backdrops such as very small towns."