Registry office weddings may become common

Couples a bit jittery about planning their wedding ceremony need not worry: The government can arrange it for you.

Couples in Beijing and Shanghai as well as Shandong and Hubei provinces have had the option of having a free marriage ceremony courtesy of their local civil affairs bureaus immediately after they register their marriage.

The procedure has been deemed successful enough that the Ministry of Civil Affairs is considering spreading the free and voluntary ceremony to other regions of China. One of the hopes is that the process will instill a sense of responsibility for marriage in the new couple.