Wedding photos and Taiwan are a picture-perfect match

This article was written by Allen Hsu and published by the Taiwan Journal on March 9, 2007. It features several popular sites for Taiwanese and international couples to shoot their wedding photos.

One of these sites is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, which covers 250,000 square meters of land in central Taipei. The hall is accompanied by two notable buildings, the National Theater and the National Concert Hall. Surrounded by well-maintained trees, flowers, lawns and paths, it makes a good backdrop for photos.

According to this article, the wedding photography industry in Taiwan boasts more than 1,000 shops and 20,000 employees. The industry generates approximately US$300 million in revenues every year. It is also attracting an increasing number of foreigners. According to the Taipei Wedding Photography Association, the phenomenon of various professional wedding photo studios springing up across Taiwan "not only is an economic miracle but is also uniquely Taiwanese". Indeed, in Taiwan, more than 90 percent of newlywed couples have teir pictures taken at photo studios.

According to this article, the opening of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in 1980 significantly boosted the wedding photography industry. Before the hall was built, people took relatively conservative photos in indoor studios. Nowadays, with the hall's open ground, dramatic architecture and an enchanting sea of flowers, people love taking outdoor wedding photos there. There have been so many wedding photography shops opening around the hall that the area is nicknamed Taipei's "wedding zone". Each of these shops features a different style and displays its latest, most eye-catching wedding gowns in its windows.

Wedding photography shops provide not only great photos, but also other services such as banquet arrangements, gown rental and wedding make-up. Perhaps this is why the industry is considered "uniquely Taiwanese". Because people in modern society have less time to deal with the complicated process of arranging a wedding, they want the wedding photography businesses to handle everything from beginning to end. Severe competition within the industry is another factor that contributes to the provision of extensive and highly personalized services. Some wedding photography shops have even introduced the use of wedding planners, who are event-planning specialists. They not only make reservations for the banquet hall for the newlyweds, but also design distinctive activities for guests at the wedding and record a video of the whole process.

According to this article, four wedding companies have dominated the market in Taiwan. Julie Wedding News was established in 1987 and has since set up branches all over Taiwan and in Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Sophie Wedding Studio Ltd. was established in 1990 and provides wedding gowns manufactured in European designs and fabrics. Ching Hua International Co. Ltd. was established in the late 1980s and was the first local company to break into the Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean markets. Lin Li Studio was established in 1987 and provides services to not only members of the public but also entertainers and celebrities.

The marriage rate in Taiwan has been dropping in recent years. According to this article, in 2006, 110,000 couples were married, a drop from the figure of 130,000 in 2005. Although fewer local people get married these days, the wedding photography industry finds more and more foreign customers who visit Taiwan to record their memories in photos. As a result, Taiwan's wedding photography companies may take photos for their customers on wedding anniversaries, graduations, Valentine's Day and even family reunions. This is perhaps another reason why the industry is considered "uniquely Taiwanese".

Nonetheless, according to this article, the high quality and creativity of Taiwanese wedding photography businesses are destined to spread to other countries. Indeed, people in Japan, China and other Southeast Asian countries have seen the impressive work done by Taiwanese businesses. In 2006, the Taipei Wedding Photography Association proposed to the Tourism Bureau that Taiwan's wedding businesses can be introduced to international visitors as part of the nation's tourism promotion. As the association rightly points out: "Since the local wedding photography sector has been deemed a cultural industry, it should be integrated into tourist literature to attract travellers."