Most couples in Hong Kong prefer to get married at the traditional venues despite a proposal to revise the law that would allow them to opt for the unconventional ones, says a recent survey.

If passed, the new law will allow couples to tie the knot, with lawyers instead of marriage registrars as witnesses, in places other than marriage registries and churches. The lawyers, of course, should be chartered for over seven years.

The newly found freedom to choose unconventional venues doesn't seem to have tickled people's imagination. The ESD Services Limited survey showed 42.2 per cent of the 1,505 respondents would definitely not choose an unconventional venue because in such a case the lawyers' fee would be expensive. But 28.4 per cent said they would opt for an unorthodox spot.

About 28 per cent respondents said that if the new law was enacted before their marriage they would hold their wedding reception in the most popular and "traditional" venues such as hotels, Chinese restaurants and club houses, with 13.6 per cent preferring the marriage registration offices.

"Couples appear to be practical because convenience for them is usually the biggest issue," ESD Services Marketing General Manager Alan Cheung said.

Most couples at present choose to go to a marriage registration office in the morning to tie the knot and host the wedding banquet in the evening. But once the new law is passed, they can have the wedding ceremony and banquet simultaneously in the same place. That would save them the trouble of rushing to the banquet venue from the marriage registry to oversee the arrangements.

Nevertheless, some of the interviewees cited some fancy venues, such as the beach or underwater, where they would like to exchange the marriage vow. The Hong Kong Disneyland that once many thought would be the favourite offbeat wedding venue was favoured by only 10 per cent of the people -- probably because of its prohibitive costs.

(China Daily HK Edition July 27, 2005)