If everything had gone to plan Estelle would be about to embark on a flight from her Beijing home to England for her honeymoon. “We thought September was good because after that it gets really cold and rainy,” she says.
But now the honeymoon is off. When Estelle and her boyfriend started arranging the wedding, her mother demanded – as is common in China – that the groom buy the couple an apartment first. With sky-high property prices , that was out of reach. “Now we’ve put everything on hold and are reviewing our options,” says Estelle. “Maybe we should just get married anyway – you have to give love a chance.”
The conundrum confronting the 28-year-old brand manager is one many young Chinese are now facing. The present-day interpretation of Confucian traditions, which treat marriage as a union of two families rather than individuals, may require parents to demand a price for their offspring. But with the price of entry rising beyond reach many young Chinese are starting to opt for “naked weddings” instead, embarking on a life of matrimonial bliss without the usual materialistic trappings.