“There is, too, an aspect of Chinese wedding photography that evokes old-fashioned fairy-tales — of the European variety. Of course, American brides in the land of blue jeans also don Cinderella-like gowns for their nuptials, but in China the wedding photographs often feature not only brides in long-trained dresses and veils, but such props as violas, winding staircases, and baby grand pianos (sometimes hauled out to a beachfront, if that’s the chosen location). Why the whiff of European aristocracy? There is an increasing tendency among China’s middle class to equate America with dynamism, but Europe with sophistication — as attested to by the fact that fancy new apartments complexes on the outskirts of Beijing are given names like “Rome” and “Modern Mansion” and Chinese sophisticates savor French wine. Some of the top wedding studios in China include “Gold Lady” (Jinfuren), “Venus,” “Love Forever,” and “Shanghai Paris.” ”

via Beautiful Me! – An FP Photo Essay by Corneliu Cazacu and Christina Larson | Foreign Policy.