When Hong Kong celebrity couple Carlos Chan and Shiga Lin announced they would wed on April 24, social media went into a congratulatory frenzy.
But it was the manner in which singer Lin and TVB actor Chan – the star of Happiness and Ready Or Knot – announced the news, by releasing pre-wedding photos, that also sent online observers into a spin.
Unlike weddings in the West, where photos are usually taken on the big day itself, in Hong Kong, tradition dictates that snaps be taken weeks, sometimes months, before the actual wedding.
“Pre-wedding photos are usually taken three to nine months before the couple’s wedding day,” said Hong Kong photographer Jenny Tong.
“This is so the couple can share their visual love story with their wedding guests.”
Hong Kong photographer Derek Ko said the weather plays a big role in deciding when – and where – pre-nuptial shoots take place.
“Hong Kong summers are too hot for photo taking,” said Ko, adding overseas photo sessions are becoming increasingly popular.
“A lot of couples go to Japan in March and April to catch the cherry blossom in full bloom,” said Ko. “Autumn, when the maple trees in Japan turn fiery red and orange, is also popular.”
“I’ve also done shoots in New Zealand at Lake Tekapo,” he said of the brilliant blue lake surrounded by mountains in the country’s South Island.
As for “hot shot spots”, Ko highlighted Paris, Tuscany and Prague as well as Cappadocia in Turkey where clusters of hot air balloons provide a spectacular backdrop.
Hong Kong photographer KC Chan said some couples want photos taken at sentimental locations such as where they first met.
“Couples choose Europe because they see it as more romantic,” said Chan, adding the industry is bouncing back after Covid restrictions delayed couples’ wedding plans.
“Others might choose Australia because they have a personal connection with it, like they went to school there.”
Ko said one yoga-loving couple wanted pre-wedding photos themed around the bendy practice.
“No, I didn’t take photos of them in formal suits or gowns,” he laughed.
Australian photographer Olivia Martin-McGuire, who spent four years in Shanghai, was so fascinated with the pre-wedding photo tradition that she made it the focus of her debut film.
“China Love”, released in 2018, delves into China’s billion-dollar pre-wedding photo industry and explores the world of fantasy photo shoots.
Some couples featured in the documentary were in their 80s and 90s, and were doing it again, and very differently from their original state-arranged marriages decades earlier when only drab clothing and one black and white photo was the norm.
Martin-McGuire said the film is not just about the wedding photo industry but explores issues of freedom, status, money and the new “China dream”.
“Just over 40 years ago, marriage in China was arranged by the state. Romantic love was seen as a capitalist concept,” she told the Post.
Where the pre-wedding photo tradition stems from, however, is not entirely clear.
But Chan has a theory: “I think the wedding gown businesses started it,” he said. Some shoots can involve several dress changes.
Ko is less cynical: “Pre-wedding shoots are a good thing because they help nervous or camera-shy couples relax,” he said. “They can treat it like a practice run for the big day.”
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