BEIJING: A happy couple exchange a kiss for the camera, the bride in a white off-the-shoulder dress holding a delicate bouquet, the groom in matching white suit, standing together on a green lawn lined with pink blossom.
It looks like the perfect wedding memory — except it’s not their wedding day. Instead, it is part of a booming industry in China for increasingly elaborate pre-wedding photos, as young couples spend time and cash lining up glamorous photo shoots to display on their big day.
But for those who can’t afford to travel overseas or to Chinese tourist hotspots in search of suitable backdrops, companies like the Love Story in Rome studio bring a range of backgrounds, costumes, accessories and themes together — all within one Beijing complex.
“It’s really tiring to shoot outside, moving from one place to another place. This wedding shoot centre is indoors and it provides everything you want,” said bride Zhao Tianyou, 25, who had been shooting since 8am that morning.
Rows of couples pose for photographs inside the sprawling complex in Beijing, with settings ranging from tropical gardens to autumnal fields, waterfalls to starlit skies. In one carefully stage-managed shot, a bride in a white dress floats half-submerged in water, drinking a glass of wine. – AFP
