Tying the knot - anywhere

Think of your dream wedding: walking barefoot along a quiet beach with your betrothed on a perfect spring day and exchanging vows against the backdrop of the lapping waves, or surrounded by greenery in an idyllic garden setting, with birds singing and an azure sky overhead. Perhaps you would prefer to keep your wedding as private as possible and hold it at home with only close friends and family in attendance.

None of these dreams could have come true in Hong Kong until about a year ago. Before then, no matter how unique the reception or how many guests attended it, the bride and groom were still required to traipse down to their local marriage registry during office hours to be legally wed.

The only exception to this was if either party was incarcerated or seriously ill enough to be confined to a hospital bed, in which case a request could be made for a registrar to attend the prison or hospital at a cost of about HK$18,000.

At Hong Kong's marriage registries, competition for time slots is fierce - particularly on any days that are deemed auspicious by the Chinese almanac or fortune-tellers.

Increasing the stress on the future husband and wife are the registries' restricted opening hours and the stipulation that the required public notice of intent to marry be issued no earlier than three months in advance of the wedding date.

These days, however, Hongkongers looking to wed can enjoy almost total freedom.

On March 13 last year, the government approved legislation designed to make it possible to get married at any time of day and in almost any location - from private clubs to shopping malls, from theme parks to public outdoor space - all without forcing couples to pay a hefty financial price.

On April 21 last year, the registrar of marriages and director of immigration Lai Tung-kwok gave official approval to Hong Kong's first civil celebrants of marriage. And at a cost of HK$4,000 to HK$5,000 all up, hiring one is an affordable alternative to a registry wedding.

Among the first people to take advantage of the new legislation - and the first to do so at any Hong Kong hotel - were dentist Florence Lee and marketing director Roger Lee, who wed at the InterContinental Hong Kong on April 29 last year.

Unlike any couple to have held their wedding banquet in a hotel previously, they engaged a civil celebrant to perform the legal ceremony on site. They chose the president of the Law Society of Hong Kong and their friend, Peter Lo Chi-lik, to do the honours.

With none of the hassle or formality of a church wedding but all of the atmosphere, the wedding took place in the foyer of the InterContinental's grand ballroom, surrounded by Florence and Roger's friends, family and members of the press.

Ascending the hotel's sweeping white marble staircase, guests took their seats in church-like pews while a string quartet played.

The bride, draped in a snow white fabric, and her father walked down an aisle to the strains of the wedding march.

Since launching its 'Weddings with Style' package at the end of 2005, the hotel has put the focus on every wedding's unique aspects. Couples choose between traditional white-wedding decor, contemporary Chinese and resort/garden style, and for the menu, between a traditional Chinese banquet and one incorporating some of the hotel's signature western dishes.

The flexibility of these arrangements, as well as new wedding arrangements at other Hong Kong hotels, reflect market demand for a move away from the traditional style of evening wedding banquets.

Sharon Lee, director of catering and conferences at the Langham Hotel, says: 'A new trend that we have been seeing among young couples is for smaller wedding lunches with around 100 to 150 guests.'

The hotel offers couples a tailored wedding lunch package that includes the marriage ceremony conducted by a civil celebrant. About half of the couples who opt for a traditional evening banquet hire a civil celebrant.

Meanwhile, at the Langham's sister hotel, the Eaton Hotel Hong Kong, director of catering Kenneth Yu Yik-keung says about 30 to 40 per cent of wedding couples choose to be married by a civil celebrant.

For Hong Kong's hotels, the flexibility afforded by the new marriage legislation means being able to offer, for the first time, a complete wedding experience unencumbered by the need to attend proceedings at another location.

Lucia Shum, executive director of events at the InterContinental Hong Kong, says: 'In terms of new services, the civil celebrant wedding is something great to be able to offer. This is especially true when it comes to holding the ceremony at one of our unique terrace suites.' Couples exchanging their vows in one of these suites do so on an alfresco terrace with unrivalled panoramic views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline.

The benefits of hiring a civil celebrant are manifold for the bride and groom; not least

is the fact that they have one less place to travel to.

Billy Chan, a marketing director who has already booked his wedding at the Eaton Hotel for an auspicious day in December next year, says: 'In Chinese tradition, weddings are a one-day affair. The two of us will need to go to a number of places - our home, the bride's parents' house, the hotel. The civil celebrant ceremony simplifies the process by eliminating the need to go to a registry.'

Then there is the added benefit that so many more people can attend the marriage.

'The fact that everyone who comes to the banquet can witness the ceremony is most important because if we went to a government registry, only a few, say, about 30 to 50, would be allowed in,' says Mr Chan.

There is no doubt that Hongkongers have been quick to catch on to this new and easier way to wed. According to Immigration Department figures to April 30 - slightly longer than since the new legislation was implemented - about 13,800 weddings had been conducted by civil celebrants, a figure representing about 26 per cent of the total number of marriages taking place over that period. Bearing in mind the additional expense and the newness of the legislation, it is an impressive start - and one that looks set to grow.

Of course, none of this has affected the range of services offered by Hong Kong's marriage registries (although it will certainly have made it easier to secure a slot on an auspicious day), and for weddings on a tight budget a registry ceremony will remain the option of choice in the foreseeable future.

Whether the increasing popularity of civil celebrant weddings will eventually force government offices to restrict their opening hours further remains to be seen.

For those interested in exploring wedding options, an up-to-date list of solicitors and notaries public who are appointed civil celebrants of marriage is available on the Immigration Department website (www.immd.gov.hk), the Law Society of Hong Kong website (www.hklawsoc.org.hk) and the Hong Kong Society of Notaries website (www.notaries.org.hk).

Two important sources of information for anyone considering the civil celebrant route are the 'Code of Practice for Civil Celebrants of Marriages' and the 'Information Leaflet for the Marrying Parties'. Both are issued by the Registrar of Marriages and are available on the Immigration Department's website.