Think of your dream wedding: walking barefoot along a quiet beach with your betrothed on a perfect spring day and exchanging vows against the backdrop of the lapping waves, or surrounded by greenery in an idyllic garden setting, with birds singing and an azure sky overhead. Perhaps you would prefer to keep your wedding as private as possible and hold it at home with only close friends and family in attendance.
None of these dreams could have come true in Hong Kong until about a year ago. Before then, no matter how unique the reception or how many guests attended it, the bride and groom were still required to traipse down to their local marriage registry during office hours to be legally wed.
The only exception to this was if either party was incarcerated or seriously ill enough to be confined to a hospital bed, in which case a request could be made for a registrar to attend the prison or hospital at a cost of about HK$18,000.
At Hong Kong's marriage registries, competition for time slots is fierce - particularly on any days that are deemed auspicious by the Chinese almanac or fortune-tellers.
Increasing the stress on the future husband and wife are the registries' restricted opening hours and the stipulation that the required public notice of intent to marry be issued no earlier than three months in advance of the wedding date.
These days, however, Hongkongers looking to wed can enjoy almost total freedom.
