Certification aims to make wedding prices competitive
- Source: Global Times
- [08:55 April 26 2011]
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By Mao Jiayu
The Shanghai Wedding Trade Association said Monday that it plans to implement a certification system later this year to help regulate prices in the market, after prices for wedding professionals, including makeup artists, have surged some 30 percent for the month of May.
The plans are still under discussion, but the move aims to weed out poorly trained and overpriced si da jin gang, a Chinese term used to describe a core group of professionals hired specifically for weddings: the makeup artist, photographer, camera person and host, or Master of Ceremonies (MC), said He Lina, secretary-general of the Shanghai Wedding Trade Association.
He said that prices for these wedding professionals have risen by as much as 30 percent this year, saying that couples are paying at least 10,000 yuan ($1,532) this May to hire si da jin gang for their special day. He was, however, unable to provide specific figures.
He added that the wedding professionals have been able to charge higher rates this year due to the 21 percent increase in couples predicted to marry next month compared to the same period last year.
"We predict 155,000 couples in the city to marry in May, which will account for roughly a third of the city's marriages this year," He told the Global Times Monday. "More couples have chosen to tie the knot next month, after postponing their weddings last year because of the Expo."
But while couples are willing to pay more this year, most of them are unaware of what they are paying for, according to He.
"Many times, couples end up paying a lot, but they receive poor quality in return," he said. "A certification system could help reduce these situations, and at the same time, make industry prices more competitive."