Dog owners Rye Ling and Gigi Chen pose with newlywed golden retrievers Bree and Bond as they hold their fake marriage certificate in Shanghai on June 29.
14:18 JST, July 11, 2024
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – It was a dream wedding, complete with a picturesque outdoor setting, a white lace dress and a delicious cake. The perfect day for golden retrievers — Bree and Bond — to tie the knot in front of their best human and canine friends.
Pet marriages are on the rise in China. Government policy has failed to encourage more people to marry, especially in a society that is rapidly aging and where the population is declining and the number of marriages and births remains low.
The popularity of pets and a growing willingness to spend money on them are driving the trend. Spending on furry companions rose 3.2% to 279.3 billion yuan ($38.41 billion) in 2023 from a year earlier, industry figures showed.
“People have weddings. Why can’t dogs have weddings?” said Bree’s owner Rye Ling after walking his female pet down the aisle, where she exchanged vows and promised to always share treats and play Bond with her husband.
According to figures from research firm Acuity Knowledge Partners, there were more than 116 million cats and dogs in urban China in 2023. If China’s urban population is divided equally, about one in eight Chinese owns a cat or dog, with the majority of owners under the age of 40, the research firm said.
Ling and his girlfriend Gigi Chen, who are also in no hurry to get married, meticulously planned the dog ceremony for months. They hired professional photographers, designed wedding booklets and ordered a custom-made 800 yuan cake, complete with cake toppers that looked like Bree and Bond.
Yang Tao, whose pet bakery in Shanghai made the cake, said she was initially surprised that customers wanted a wedding cake for their dogs.
“I think there will be more and more dog weddings,” Yang said, adding that she has already hosted several similar ceremonies since her bakery opened in 2022.
“We already have an order for a few months from now… and that’s for a dog wedding.”
Ling said he hoped the ceremony would give Bree and Bond a “ritualistic feel.” Ling, who said he only wanted one child, also hopes to welcome puppies soon.
