Chen Wei-yih is arranging for a wedding party involving thirty—and, simultaneously, just one. She's just gotten married and the new bride’s celebrating in style: showing off her beautiful new wedding dress in professional photos, enlisting the help of a wedding planner and holding a celebratory reception with 30 close friends.
There’s no “groom” in this wedding—and no second bride. Chen is bringing new meaning to the definition of “unity”—she’s marrying herself.
The young woman says there’s social pressure in China, to get married. The 30-year-old hasn’t yet met any better “half”—so she’s simply wedding the one she knows best. The Taipei resident has decided to celebrate—herself, and her life: "Age thirty is a prime period for me. My work and experience are in good shape, but I haven't found a [marriage] partner, so what can I do?" says the soon-to-be-bride. "It's not that I'm anti-marriage. I just hope that I can express a different idea within the bounds of a [wedding] tradition," she added.
Chen’s planned ceremony isn’t short on public commentary, proving that it’s not just family whose got all that input: the bride’s wedding and plans have netted roughly two thousand comments in the most popular online forums—most of those comments coming indicating sympathy from those whom don’t quite understand.
Taiwanese women are marrying later in life--and also choosing to marry less often--as the role of economic status for women in China advances. The change in marriage rates is fuelling the Chinese government’s concerns about a drop in the birth rate statistics and related impact on productivity.40 percent of Chinese women surveyed in 2010, by the country’s education ministry, imagine that a married couple could live better than singles.
The bride says that her wedding "plans" have to do with a hope "that more people would love themselves". She's planning a solo celebration after the wedding ceremony and reception—a “honeymoon” for the happy one, to Australia.