The covid-19 epidemic has forced many couples to postpone their wedding and now in China they are getting married online
There is no church ceremony, no champagne, no banquet for 200 people, but instead, the bride and groom are accompanied by thousands and even millions of viewers online. The coronavirus has prompted the Chinese to turn to online weddings, sparing no special effects.
Around the world, the COVID-19 epidemic has forced many couples to postpone their wedding or to do it in small groups. But in a country as populated and connected as China, couples do not hesitate to invite tens of thousands of people to follow the ceremony online.
This is what Ma Jialun and his future wife Zhang Yitong have done. The couple invited more than 100,000 strangers to follow the happiest day of their lives in real time on the online video platform Bilibili.
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In the depression epidemic, "It has been great to be able to share our happiness with many people, including unknown netizens," says Ma Jialun.
To start their new life on the right foot, the lovebirds have received countless "likes", congratulations, gifts and even the traditional virtual "red envelopes", that is money.
At the event, only a dozen people were physically present to hear the couple say "I do" during the ceremony held on May 1 in Hangzhou (east).
Ma and Zhang were to get married in January, but the appearance of the new coronavirus and the cancellation of transport led them to change the program: both were in different places and could not meet until the eve of their wedding, after three months of separation.
While life returns to normal in the Asian country with the drastic decrease in COVID-19 cases, large congregations and marriage banquets remain prohibited.
In China, weddings usually consist of a celebration at the town hall or in some place of worship. The bride and groom are usually limited to inviting their relatives in a hotel or restaurant, after multiplying the photo sessions with rented wedding suits in places considered romantic.
For Liu Wenchao, the party was reduced to a minimum: he and his fiancée exchanged rings, toasted and ate snacks alone in the room where they were to spend their wedding night.
But the video of the event, broadcast delayed on Bilibili, was a success: 5 million visits and more than 860,000 "likes".
"I didn’t expect so many people to like our video," says the tech-savvy newlywed who teaches online. "People probably need good news during this long period of the epidemic."
Another online video platform, Huajiao, directly produced a completely virtual Hollywood wedding for one of its employees who got married in April.
As a backdrop, a fairy tale castle. In the foreground: the fiancee and her enchanted prince are married in a balloon.
"When we were preparing the party, the bride explained to us that her dream was to get married in a balloon in front of a castle. Therefore, we have used the special effects to make her dream come true," says Liu Qi, an online wedding planner in Huajiao.
"It may not be easy to do it in real life but online anything is possible," he rejoices.