On the third day of every Lunar New Year, parents hit the lights, coax kids to sleep early and put their shoes away, telling their babies that the mice will hold a wedding and march across the house at midnight.

Grown people no longer accept the traditional legend as true, however, perhaps inspired by the story, a couple last month held their wedding in Whale Inside Dark restaurant. Bride Wang Wei and groom Fu Shufen each carried a candle, supported each other and walked across a 100-m red carpet with their friends and relatives sitting on each side.

Wang's father was diagnosed with stomach cancer five years ago and didn't respond to treatment after three operations. To complete the father's wish, the dutiful daughter held her wedding day while her father was still alive. "Darkness won't be an inauspicious start to the future, because people learn to treasure the brightness after surviving the hardship," Wang says.

A survey by the China wedding Exposition Committee shows that 60 percent of couples set their wedding ceremony budgets over 20,000 yuan ($2,600). However, just like Wang and Fu, some youngsters are forgoing traditional ceremonies in favor of meaningful, economical and environmental DIY wedding parties.

A popular trend is having wedding receptions or bridal showers with a theme. Such was the case with a couple who recently tied the knot in Fengtai District, Beijing. As their wedding car, the couple used a decorated LPG-fueled bus.

"It might have been a lot different if a wedding company took over, but we wanted a flexible plan to complete all our ideas," the groom says. "These themes reflect our personality and this unique wedding is a great way to share something about myself with my guests and make the day memorable.

"And the bus can hold all of my relatives."

Using the bus was the couple's way of avoiding adding to the city's air-pollution.

Wei Ni, the founder of a wedding company that features Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty outfits, says that she speaks to many couples looking for something a little different.

"We offer a cartoon wedding service, design cartoon costumes with various styles for different occasions and requirements," she says.

The company also offers two-meter high dolls, which are highly visible in park weddings nowadays. In Asia, brides looking to revel in a fairy-tale-fantasy often hold cartoon parties.

If you're short of ideas of how to create a unique wedding party, then track down the movie Confetti, a 2006 mockumentary which follows three couples competing for the title of Most Original Wedding of the Year: The Musical Wedding, The Tennis Wedding and the Naturist Wedding.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2008)