Chinese couples wed on lucky Olympics day

By Lucy Hornby

BEIJING (Reuters) - Newlyweds Chen Ming and Sun Wei were all smiles on Friday, posing with a rose and their wedding certificate in front of the Beijing Culture Centre, where more than 1,000 couples married.

At least 16,400 couples in the capital, and thousands more nation-wide, chose the auspicious combination of the eighth day of the eighth month, 2008.

Eight is a lucky number in Chinese, and on Friday the Olympic Games will open in Beijing, at 8 pm (8 a.m. EDT).

"We chose today because of the date and because of the Olympics -- we wanted to celebrate together with the country," said Sun Wei, who plans to watch the opening ceremony on television.

"It's a lucky day," chimed in Chen, who wore a checkered red top and black shoes with red trim, in keeping with the Chinese tradition that red is the color of happiness.

Beijing had prepared for an onslaught of brides, with advance online registration, appointment times and extra windows at marriage registry bureaus.

Thirty couples wed in an elaborate ceremony at the Catholic Cathedral on Wangfujing.

"All the world is proud of China today. I want to invite the world to witness my marriage," said one groom.

In many cities, including Shanghai where 6,000 couples wed, divorces were forbidden for the day to free officials to process marriage licenses more quickly.

"Divorces are also a natural part of life. You can do anything you want today," said the smiling Manager Feng, at the Dongcheng district marriage registry bureau in Beijing, which was decked out in silk flowers and white and pink balloons.

While the Dongcheng bureau had opened eight registration windows for the day, two more than usual, it could not fulfill an impromptu request from a Reuters correspondent.

"I am sorry, we can't process foreign marriages here. You will have to go to the main city office for that," Feng said.

(Additional reporting by Kitty Bu and George Chen in Shanghai)

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)