Say yes to the wedding dress

"In peak seasons it can be higher."

Ji Hui, 24, and her 26-year-old fiance, who live in Shanghai, plan to hold their wedding ceremony in January and were in Suzhou recently on a two-day wedding dress buying expedition.

After searching, fitting and bargaining, Ji bought a white wedding gown, evening dress and a party dress for her maid of honor from a store in Huqiu for 800 yuan.

"On this once-in-a-lifetime occasion I really want my own wedding dress," Ji says. "And, after all, the dresses are inexpensive."

Ji's thinking seems to mirror a large segment of the national wedding dress market. According to an online survey conducted by the Chinese web portal 163.com, 46 percent of 17,957 people surveyed said they would buy a wedding dress for the big occasion.

"It is hard to imagine that six years ago almost no Chinese bride would have considered buying a wedding dress, instead opting to rent one," says Shi Kangning, chief administrative secretary of the Working Committee on Wedding Trade under the China Association of Social Works.

"Newlyweds are willing to spend 31 percent of their savings on their wedding activities. To be more precise, about 90 percent of newlyweds would like to spend 15 percent of their wedding budget on buying wedding dresses."

Shi says that between 18 million and 20 million people marry in China every year, and it is predicted that soon the market value of the wedding dress industry will be as high as 300 billion euros a year.

If Chinese companies focus more on the domestic market, "I am sure there will be more work opportunities and large profits", Lu says, adding that Chinese wedding dresses are losing their competitive edge overseas because of rising labor, material and transport costs.

Chen of hsw365.com says the lack of branding and original designs is hampering the industry in China.

The lack of brand awareness can be attributed to the fact that most manufacturers use ready-made designs, he says.

"China's wedding dress industry is no longer in its infancy. But only 5 percent of the companies have sound brands and stick to original designs, and that is a huge problem."

In Shen's factory there are thousands of styles of wedding dresses. But most of them, he says, are made with designs tailored to his clients.

"I was a fashion design major, but most orders come with designs, so I rarely have the chance to design. So we do not have our own brand - just a factory name."

Lu feels the problems with brand awareness will soon be solved.

"I believe this industry will go through restructuring in the near future. One reason is that the rise in domestic demand will require better quality, which will stimulate companies to focus more on design.

"The other reason is that more national regulations will be worked out and cutthroat competition will be brought under control."