Chinese and western wedding photography contrast

Wedding season has arrived, and with it swarms of soon-to-be-wed couples tromping through parks for their pre-wedding photo shoot.

The scene is nothing new in China: bride, groom, photographer, and a team of make-up-mastering, sun-reflector-wielding helpers. But in the US, wedding photos are only slowly starting to wander from the traditional aisle. Some new, at times shocking, twists are being wrought on the traditional point-and-shoot.

Most American weddings still take place in a church. The wedding itself is followed by a big reception party with friends and family. A photographer's job, traditionally, is to capture these two events for posterity. That requires some basic staples of a wedding album: the bride coming down the aisle, the putting on of the ring, the kiss, and the happy couple emerging from the church as newlyweds.

After the "I do's", family members line up around the bride and groom for a series of photos-the bride and her bridesmaids, the groom and his brothers; possibilities are endless.

Over the last few decades, wedding photojournalism has also become a necessary addition to the traditional package. A photographer is asked to follow the couple and their party throughout the day, trying to catch candid shots that portray a more behind-the-scenes look to the festivities.

Evan Flagg and his fianc Ilia Saddler are planning to get married on August 7. The couple originally met at their alma mater, Pomona College outside Los Angeles, California. They're spending $4,000 (27,304 yuan) on wedding shots, both in a pre-wedding "engagement session" and at the wedding.

"I'd like to think we're not choosing traditional photography, but I know that we will still be doing all the traditional wedding shots," Flagg says. "Our hope is that our photographer will put his own artistic stamp on the photos. I want them to have a point of view and character."

Trashing the dress

Unlike with Chinese couples, fantasy costumes are not part of the procedure. But that doesn't mean that alternatives don't exist. Las Vegas photographer John Michael Cooper is credited with being the first wedding photographer to "trash the dress". Just like it sounds, the bride takes her prized possession and either slightly or completely destroys it.

Most park-going, photo-parade couples in China are in rented apparel. But that's not the case in the States. Most brides buy expensive, thousand-dollar dresses to wear only once, before storing them away as a keepsake  or possible hand-me-down. That is, unless they trash it-by swimming in a swamp, or lighting the dress on fire in the desert. The trend is more Glamor mag than wedding drag, and it is a freeing experience much more rewarding than stuffing the princess piece back in some box.

"I don't think we would ruin the dress," Flagg says. His fiance has forked out $2,000 (13,652 yuan) for hers. But he likes the idea of more avant-garde wedding art.

From the whacky to the tacky, couples have also been spicing up ceremonies with photo booths-the kind you might see at a carnival or tourist attraction. The idea here is similar: let loose. People enter the booth and draw the curtain closed. The result is often hilarious photos and videos from friends and family.

After all, capturing the day on camera is what makes wedding photography such an integral part of the multi-billion dollar wedding business.

"It obviously captures a significant milestone in your life," Flagg says. "Rarely do you get all the family and friends together, so I think it will be great to go through the album when I'm old and senile and see who was there."