Three high-end Chinese wedding trends: quality, customisation and destination weddings

When John Liu married Sophia in Shanghai last year, he wanted a wedding that reflected their life together – including their two dogs – and their love of fun and fine food.

The focus was on organising a personalised celebration that balanced the couple’s Chinese heritage with a desire to make the day fun and relaxed for their family and friends, a mix of Chinese and international guests.

It certainly helped that Liu’s restaurant, Highline, has a spectacular terrace with panoramic views, and to fulfil their epicurean tastes 600 oysters, three kilograms of caviar, all-you-can-drink champagne and whisky were on offer.

In lieu of a traditional Chinese tea ceremony – a mainstay of Chinese weddings since the Tang dynasty, 1,200 years ago – a “cognac ceremony” featuring Louis XIII cognac proved an adequate substitute for the parents of the bride, originally from Dalian in northeast China.

“It was mainly natural and comfortable – those are the two things I wanted to give people,” Liu says. “This is how we should be living our lives, not over-the-top; it’s just really nice quality. It’s not about lobster and oysters in a fashion where you’re showing off, it’s about having lobster and oysters so that people are happy with what they’re eating.”

Cyrielle Mohara is the founder of Spectrum Agency, a high-end event and wedding planning agency based in Shanghai. Originally from France and coming from a background in events, Mohara’s speciality is planning weddings with customised elements and a European flair, both increasingly in demand from couples in China’s most developed eastern seaboard markets.