It was a dreamy wedding, complete with a picturesque outdoor setting, white lace gowns, and a delicious cake.
It was the perfect day for golden retrievers Bree and Bond to get married in front of their closest human and canine friends.
Pet weddings are on the rise in China, but government policies have had little success promoting human marriage in a rapidly ageing society where the population is shrinking and marriage and birth rates remain low.
The popularity of pets and the increasing willingness to spend money on them is driving this trend.
Spending on pet-related products is expected to reach $38.41 billion (279.3 billion yuan) in 2023, up 3.2% from the previous year, according to industry statistics.
“Humans have weddings, why can’t dogs have weddings?” Bree’s owner, Lai Lin, said after escorting her female pet down the aisle, where she and her husband, Bond, vowed to always share treats and play together.
According to statistics from research firm Acuity Knowledge Partners, there will be more than 116 million cats and dogs in China’s urban areas as of 2023.
Evenly distributed across China’s urban population, roughly one in eight Chinese people owns a cat or dog, and the majority of owners are under the age of 40, according to research firms.
Though Lin and his girlfriend Gigi Chen say they are in no rush to tie the knot, they spent months meticulously planning their dog wedding.
They arranged for a professional photographer, designed a wedding booklet and ordered a custom 800 yuan cake with decorations resembling those of Bree and Bond.
Yang Tao, who made the cake from Shanghai-based Pet Bakery, said he was initially surprised that customers wanted wedding cakes for their dogs.
“I think we’ll see more and more dog weddings in the future,” Yang said, adding that since opening his own bakery in 2022, he’s already catered several similar ceremonies.
“I’ve already got orders for a few months from now: a dog wedding.”
Lynn said she hopes the ceremony will give Bree and Bond a “sense of ritual.”
Lin says she only wants one child and is hoping to get a puppy soon.
(1 dollar = 7.2712 Chinese yuan)
