At one time in China weddings were simple affairs, with small ceremonies and bunches of flowers thrown in for good measure.

曾几何时，在中国婚礼很简单，简约的仪式，几束鲜花，就已经很不错了。

But over the decades, as this photo gallery reveals, nuptials have become much more extravagant as they have in other parts of the world, due to the rise of credit cards, larger disposable incomes and unprecedented pressure from social media.

但时过境迁，几十年来从以下这些照片看来，婚礼变得越来越铺张，求花费远超其他国家，其原因有信用卡的普及，多余的可支配收入，还有社交媒体的介入。

On the cost front, prices are said to have increased sixty-fold since the 1990s. Indeed, one affair last year in China was panned for costing an 'over-excessive' 2.8 million yuan (£290,000). In the 1970's people apparently splashed an average of 680 yuan (£80) on their big day.

单从婚礼花销来看，从20世纪90年代以来就翻了6倍。事实上，就在去年一桩奢侈婚礼的花销达到280万元人民币合计29万英镑。而20世纪70年代平均婚礼的花销在680元人民币合计80英镑。

Liu Tong, a director at a local TV channel in the northeast province of Liaoning, recalled that in his parent's generation, the bride would be picked up by bicycle instead of the swanky sportscars favoured by today's generation. Looking at how the concept of tying the knot has evolved, Liu wrote on the social media site Weibo: 'In the 1950s it was about having a bed, in the 1960s it was just about a bag of sweets, in the 1970s it was the Little Red Book, in the 1980s it was about having a radio, in the 1990s there was the extravagance of top-class hotels, and in the 2000s the wedding reception is a display of individuality.'

刘同（音译），辽宁（中国东北）一家当地电视台的主管，回忆起他父母那辈人结婚，与现在年轻人结婚买车一样，那时新娘会选一辆自行车。瞧瞧现在结婚这点事是如何变化的，刘在社交媒体微博上这样写道:50年代要有张床，60年代就要带喜糖，70年代就是小红本（结婚证），80年代要个收音机，90年代要顶级豪华酒店，21世纪就是要展现个性。

Dozens of Weibo users have shared imaged of changing wedding traditions, which they refer to as a 'mirror of their time'.

不少微博网友都都晒出了不同年代的婚礼照片，称这是“他们那个年代的镜子”。

（翻译：林浔鸥）