A French-style Expo group wedding ceremony is held in the Expo Garden on Tuesday. [China Daily]

Thirty-five Chinese couples from all over the world said "I do" in a French-style group wedding ceremony on Tuesday, witnessed by their families and thousands of visitors at the Expo Garden.

As the chief witness at the wedding, Jean Germain, mayor of the city of Tours in France, announced the beginning of the first French-style Expo group wedding with the theme of "Tender Spring" at the Expo Culture Center.

Germain had been the witness for 200 Chinese couples who participated in group weddings in Tours in the past two years. Tuesday's ceremony was the first time the mass Tours wedding had taken place in Shanghai, in China and at an Expo.

All the newlywed couples were offered a tour to the France Pavilion as VIP guests and granted wedding certificates by Germain, plus a French meal cooked by Michelin star chefs at the Six Sense restaurant in the France Pavilion.

A team of specialists from Tours worked on the flower decoration, make-up, photography and dresses for the wedding. At the ceremony, dancers from Tours performed a French tango while a comic group gave comedy shows.

All attending couples entered a lucky draw, which offered the winning couple a nine-day European trip for their honeymoon.

As the eldest pair of couple, 42-year-old Sandy Gao and her 48-year-old husband, surnamed Zu, flew from the United States last Thursday especially for the memorable wedding ceremony.

"Initially we planned to register our marriage in the mainland. After learning about the wedding in the Expo Garden, I really wanted to participate in this kind of special wedding to celebrate the new beginning of our lives," Gao said.

Although Gao was a bit rushed in her wedding preparations, she still felt lucky that her application to be a part of the wedding was successful.

Wang Li, 32, had been looking forward to a group wedding for its exciting atmosphere and unusual style of celebration.

Each couple was allowed to invite up to seven family members and close friends to attend the ceremony, celebrating the precious moments with the lovebirds.

"I want my wedding to be perfect and unique, so I choose to attend the group wedding from my heart," said Wang, who brought five family members and two best friends to witness the exciting moment.

"Spring is my favorite season and Expo is the biggest cultural festival in Shanghai this year. I am so happy that I'm part of this event with wishes from my families and friends," she said.

Wang's mother, Qian Lanying, thought the French and Expo wedding would be the most meaningful and memorable experience for all of them.

"I was so surprised when Wang told me that she's attending the French Tours Expo group wedding. I wish the couple to be happy forever," said Ren Li, Wang's best friend, who planned to apply to the next session of the French Expo group wedding in June.

Four more French-style Expo group weddings held by Tours city are scheduled until the end of October. "More happy couples will get married in the Expo Garden soon," said Lise Han, the main organizer of the French Expo weddings from Tours.

Most of the couples were born in the 1980s, a generation full of characteristic ideas and leading the fashion trend by breaking traditional customs.

"France, the dream country of our generation, is the symbol of romance. It's also my dream to get married in the most romantic style. Especially it's the Expo period in Shanghai which makes the wedding ceremony more unique and symbolic for us," said 25-year-old bride Cai Mianmian, an interpreter from Fujian Province. She and her husband, Zeng Dongjie, fell in love when they were classmates in senior high school 11 years ago.

(China Daily May 12, 2010)