COVID-19 wasn't kind to wedding planners in China, where marriages are traditionally elaborate, expensive affairs, but the industry estimated at almost $500 billion is now facing a bigger threat: a plunge in the number of couples willing to tie the knot.
The trend, which has become more obvious as the economy weakens and consumer confidence wanes, is also worrying officials trying to revive marriage rates and birth rates, which dropped to record lows last year, leading to the first decline in population numbers in 60 years.
"The number of marriages is falling and few are willing to spend a lot on weddings," said Yuan Jialiang, who ran a full-scale wedding planning business for almost a decade in Shanghai before switching to focus on wedding photography before the pandemic.