OLYMPIC WEDDING: Ninety-nine couples and thousands of their guests have a collective wedding ceremony to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games in Changchun, Jilin Province, on June 22

Han Licheng and Ouyang Xue made the decision a year ago to get married on August 8, 2008. The number 8 in Chinese has a pronunciation similar to a word that means "make a fortune," so many believe that it's a propitious date to be married.

August 8, 2008 is the date for the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games and the day before it is Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. As a result big cities all over the country have bracing for a wave of weddings.

"I want the Olympic Games to witness our marriage. When the whole world cheers for the Games, it cheers for us as well," 26-year-old Han said.

The couple ordered a huge candle, which looks much like an Olympic torch. They will light the candle during their wedding ceremony and pass it among their relatives. The couple have high expectations for their wedding ceremony as well as the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Xiao Cui and Zhu Zi have come up with an unusual idea to name the dinner tables at their wedding after Olympic sports.

"We are breaking the conventional rules. Our guests can choose their favorite sports table to sit at, so that they can talk with other people who have something in common," said Zhu. They also designed torch-like invitation cards. Zhu added that classic Olympic theme songs will be played during the ceremony.

After their big day, the couple will spend their honeymoon traveling through Olympic cities, including Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Hong Kong and Qinhuangdao. "Along our journey, we will spread our love to those who need help, and let more people share our happiness and joy," Xiao said.

It has been reported that many couples want their weddings to have an Olympic Games connection. Novel wedding plans include flying 2,008 balloons and lighting 2,008 candles. Among the more bizarre plans are a bride and broom who will dress like the Fuwa (Olympic mascots), another couple who will play a cartoon video of the Fuwa reenacting their love story, and a ceremony that will be set up like a news conference with the guests as reporters and the couple as spokespeople.

Although many couples continue to plan an Olympic themed wedding, others have abandoned the idea in favor of something more traditional.

"Of course the Olympic Games will be much more populous than our wedding. What if too few guests come to the wedding ceremony? It would be a little embarrassing," said bride-to-be Ximen Hong.

Another couple have postponed their wedding until September 7, which is August 8 in the Chinese lunar calendar. "My wife and I think that it will be better to take the whole month to enjoy the Olympic Games," said the future groom.

The wedding delay was welcome news for Cheng Ping, who will be the bride's maid of honor. She wanted to watch games at home. "Many hotels have a TV service so guests can watch the Games during the wedding ceremony, but as a maid of honor, I'm not allowed to be distracted," she said.

Many wedding companies, hopeful of a bumper wedding period, have been disappointed. "Many weddings are now being simplified, as guests want to rush home for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games," said the manger of a Hyatt hotel in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province.

Hotel managers have also been surprised at the lack of weddings. "We thought it would be a busy time for weddings on August 8, but it turned out just the opposite," said the manger.

Restrictions imposed in the run-up to the Olympics have already begun to pose problems for couples that want to marry on August 8. Since July 20, Beijing has introduced "odd-even" traffic restrictions to help ease congestion and reduce pollution during the Olympics and Paralympics, with no exception for the wedding cars.

"Many wedding planners are not willing to take orders during the Olympic season as there might be too many traffic uncertainties," said a source at a Beijing-based wedding company.

An influx of tourists and a hike in hotel prices for the Olympics could also prove troublesome for wedding guests coming to Beijing.