Wedded bliss begins in May

The May Day holiday was a popular date for weddings in the city with some 660 couples tying the knot on Thursday, 20 percent up on May 1 last year.

Authorities, however, are preparing themselves for an even bigger rush on August 8, the day the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games begins.

Li Haihua, director of the Shanghai Marriage and Adoption Registration Center Xuhui District Branch, said the center would be recruiting volunteers to deal with the queues on that day, and would put measures in place to deal with the expected increase in the number of couples seeking registration.

On important dates couples have been known to queue up outside the center from midnight to get their marriage certificates.

This New Year's Day, a couple from Zhabei District waited outside the district's registration center from 2am, along with their parents.

As well as registration, August 8 is also considered to be an auspicious day to hold a wedding. The Shanghai Wedding Trade Association said local hotels are well-booked for wedding banquets and it expected to see 135,000 weddings in the city this year.

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