An amazing Swarovski crystal wedding dress is on display at the 6th China International Wedding (CIW) Expo, from August 17 to 19, 2007, at the Beijing Exhibition Centre.

The 6th China International Wedding (CIW) Expo that kicked off on Friday in Beijing, has attracted thousands of lovers wishing to tie the knot and many other interested visitors each day. It runs from August 17 to 19.

The wedding expo has nine exhibition areas based around different themes. It has gathered together a wide range of wedding products and services, including photography studios, wedding planners, bridal gown designers, rental services, hotel agents and restaurant banquet hall representatives.

The expo not only brings convenience to the buyers, but also a golden opportunity for wedding suppliers to promote their brands' images and expand their customer bases.

Among the exhibition areas, photography studios are the most frequented by visitors. Many wedding photography studios, like Golden Lady, Luomanluolan, Swarov, Paris Spring and Figaro have rolled-out promotional packages, offering big discounts for on-site purchases during the exhibition.

With the rise of the nation's wedding industry---as more and more companies from home and abroad enter the market---many savvy businesspeople have looked abroad to introduce a lot of new forms of wedding services that are quite popular in foreign countries.

As can be seen at the expo, there are a couple of companies that provide custom-made wedding services, such as Beijing Miracle Maker which offers printed wedding invitation cards with the cartoon image of the newly-weds on the cover. Similarly, Vision Communications customises gifts for guests attending the wedding ceremony, with a strong human touch, they add the names of the newly-weds or wedding date on items, which serve not only as daily articles of pragmatic use but also significant reminders.

Nowadays, since the standard of living in China has improved greatly, many couples dream of an extravagant wedding ceremony, especially for those who take it as a once in a lifetime event. This drives forward a billion dollar lucrative industry that's growing increasingly mature in China year by year.

(CRI.cn August 19, 2007)