It was a dream wedding, complete with a picturesque outdoor setting, a white lace gown, and a delectable cake.
The perfect day for golden retrievers – Bree and Bond – to tie the knot in front of their closest human and canine friends.
In China, there is a rising trend of pet weddings. This trend has emerged as the government’s efforts to encourage more human weddings have not been very successful in a society that is aging rapidly, with a declining population, low marriage rates, and low birth rates.
The popularity of pets and an increasing willingness to splurge on them are driving the trend.
Spending on furry companions in 2023 rose 3.2% to $38.41 billion (279.3 billion yuan) from a year earlier, industry figures show.
Rye Ling, the owner of a dog named Bree, expressed the sentiment that if people can have weddings, why can’t dogs have them too? He proudly escorted his female pet down the aisle where she exchanged vows with her husband Bond, promising to always share treats and play together.
As of 2023, there were more than 116 million cats and dogs in urban China, according to figures by research firm Acuity Knowledge Partners.
Research indicates that if we were to evenly distribute pet ownership across China’s urban population, approximately one in eight Chinese individuals would own either a cat or a dog. The majority of these pet owners are under 40 years old.
Ling and his girlfriend Gigi Chen, who said they’re in no rush to get married themselves, meticulously planned the canine ceremony for months.
They arranged professional photographers, designed wedding booklets, and ordered a custom-made 800-yuan cake complete with toppers that resemble Bree and Bond.
Yang Tao, whose Shanghai-based pet bakery prepared the cake, said she was initially surprised that customers wanted wedding cakes for their dogs.
“I think there will be more and more dog weddings,” Yang said, adding that she has already catered several similar ceremonies since her bakery was launched in 2022.
“We have already received 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 “sense of ritual.”
Ling, who said he wanted only one child, also hopes to welcome puppies soon.
($1 = 7.2712 Chinese yuan)