Chinese Wedding Chaos: Bride’s Mother Adds $10K At The Last Minute, Groom Walks Away, Bride Regrets

They already gave me 500,000 yuan before. Today, I brought the remaining 100,000 yuan. That makes 600,000 yuan in total. Wouldn't it be great to have a grand wedding? My daughter is marrying off so far away, and after she belongs to your family, who will take care of us when we're old? Asking for another 100,000 yuan in bride price isn't too much, right? We'll come visit every year. You say you'll only come once a year, but we raise our daughter day by day. I came here today, and I'm already here. Now you're telling me to add another 100,000 yuan to buy the bride price? I'm adding it at the last minute to see whether you have what it takes to marry my daughter. Then I'd rather not get married. Recently, a series of absurd incidents involving last-minute increases in bride prices have occurred across China, once again drawing public attention to problems surrounding wedding customs. The bride price was agreed on, the money was prepared, the wedding date was set, and relatives had been invited. Then, right before the wedding, the price was raised by another 100,000 yuan. This isn't a negotiation. It's more like a hostage situation, and the person being used as a bargaining chip is their own daughter. If someone can demand an extra 100,000 yuan at the last minute today, they may try to interfere in the couple's life tomorrow. A marriage where the price can change at any time is already carrying hidden risks. Hi, mom. Hi, auntie. Hi, mom. Hi, auntie. Time to change what you call my parents. The engagement gift isn't enough. Call me that once you've paid up. Honey, will you marry me? My mom said you need to add another 300,000 yuan in bride price to buy a house for my younger brother. Otherwise, she won't let me marry you. Are you serious? Yes, I am. A common tradition in modern Chinese weddings is a special ceremony to thank the parents, where the bride and the groom formally change the way they address each other's parents by calling them mom and dad. In one wedding, the bride demanded a change of address gift and an additional 300,000 yuan in bride price on the wedding day. The groom angrily walked away, turning a wedding that had taken months to prepare into a complete failure. The same thing happened at a wedding in Jiangxi, which also went viral. During the ceremony, the bride's family suddenly demanded an additional 188,000 yuan in bride price. The groom couldn't come up with the money, and the bride felt humiliated in front of the guests. She took off her wedding dress and tried to leave. Facing both sets of parents sitting below with worried expressions, the groom sang one final song, bringing the wedding to an end. You need to bring 600,000 yuan now. Bring 600,000 yuan, Auntie? Yes. If I don't bring 600,000 yuan, you'll make me drink your foot-washing water. That's right. What? Are you saying my sister isn't worth 600,000 yuan? If you wanted 600,000 yuan, you could have just told me directly. Why did you insist on making me drink this water? Whether you drink it or not isn't the point. We're just testing you. We want to see how important our family is to you. Understand? So I really have to drink this foot-washing water, right? Is that what you want? Don't let him drink it. Enough is enough. Let me tell you, I'm not getting married anymore. No, don't go. Don't go. Mom, it's all your fault. It's all because you and my brother forced me to ask for the bride price. Let go of me. Don't leave, please. Oh, it's all your fault. The bride and groom in the video met through a matchmaking arrangement. The groom came from a relatively well-off family. Before the wedding, his family had already paid the bride's family a 280,000 yuan bride price. And they also bought a home and a car in the city. With both families' approval, the couple began their wedding preparations. But when the groom arrived at the bride's house to pick her up, something unbelievable happened. The bride's mother made an outrageous demand, asking her future son-in-law to follow a local custom and drink her daughter's foot-washing water before he could take her away. This is a humiliation. When the groom refused, his future mother-in-law gave him another option. If he didn't drink it, he had to pay another 600,000 yuan in the bride price. That was when he realized his future mother-in-law's real intention. From the beginning, she'd been trying to raise the bride price and demand more money. The groom was furious. He looked at the bride sitting on the bed, but she didn't say a word to defend him. Seeing her attitude, the groom picked up the foot-washing water and poured it over his own head. Then he threw the basin aside and said, the wedding is off. As he turned to leave, the bride suddenly grabbed his hand, crying and kneeling on the ground. But no matter how much she begged, the groom still walked away without looking back. She was devastated. Crying, she blamed her mother for forcing her into the situation. A marriage that had once seemed happy was destroyed by the bride's mother's unreasonable demand. Afterward, many people online supported the groom, saying that refusing to marry someone from a family that kept changing the terms was a relief. Otherwise, they argued, he might've spent years watching his savings being drained by his wife's family. Another video filmed by a person at a train station showed a different scene. A couple had truly loved each other for eight years, but when they were preparing to marry, the woman's parents demanded an extremely high bride price of 480,000 yuan. In the end, the man could not afford it. He sent a text message saying, let's break up and prepare to buy a single ticket to go home alone. The woman ran after him, crying uncontrollably. One person online commented, knowing when to cut your losses, this is a man who truly understands risk management. If men all worked together and stopped getting married, the bride price industry would lose its market. As China's economy continues to slow, living costs rise, and gaps in the social welfare system become more visible. The problem surrounding bride prices has also drawn renewed attention. Bride prices were originally symbolic gifts exchanged during marriage ceremonies, but have increasingly become a distorted burden placed on ordinary families. For some low-income households, a daughter's marriage is even treated as an opportunity to obtain money. Chinese media outlets reported that in 2026, the average bride price in China had reached 168,000 yuan compared with less than 70,000 yuan 10 years ago. Rural areas have seen even higher amounts. The average reached 140,000 yuan, equivalent to 4.2 times the per capita disposable income of rural residents. Jiangxi ranked among the highest nationwide with an average of 380,000 yuan across the province. In rural areas of Ganzhou and Xiangzhou, demands often start at 500,000 yuan, with some towns reaching as high as 680,000 yuan. For a rural family earning only tens of thousands of yuan a year, paying for a son to get married may require the savings of three generations. Critics argue that this turns marriage into a financial burden rather than a relationship. A 25-year-old woman from Shandong who works in the medical aesthetics industry earns 300,000 yuan a year. She said she wants to marry into a wealthy family with assets worth more than 100 million yuan. Before marriage, she also makes various high demands under different names. A relationship consultant's one sentence left her speechless. I'm from Heze, Shandong. I'm 25 years old. I'm 5'5 and weigh 112 pounds. I graduated from an elite university. I currently work in the medical aesthetics industry and my annual income is around 300,000 yuan. My current assets are about 500,000 yuan. I want to find a boyfriend in Shenzhen who's around 30 years old, about 5'8, has a bachelor's degree, earns around 300,000 yuan a year, and can afford to buy a home in Shenzhen. Actually, my ideal goal is to find someone in the A8 or A9 category, meaning someone worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan. Do you think I have a chance? A9 is absolutely impossible. It's very difficult. To reach A9, you have to compete on looks and the standards are extremely high. Are my looks not good enough? Objectively speaking, you don't meet the A9 standard. Because I'm not wearing makeup right now, am I just an ordinary person? I feel like I'm already much better than average. I just want to find someone with an annual income of around 10 to 12 million yuan. That is absolutely impossible. Seriously, stop dreaming. It's not realistic. Someone earning 10 to 12 million yuan a year would never choose someone like us. They are looking for the most beautiful women at the top level. Do you know how huge an annual income of 12 million yuan is? Do you understand money? An annual income of 12 million yuan puts someone at the very top of almost any industry. They are the absolute elite among employees. Do you know how many choices someone like that has? How many choices do they have? They would absolutely not choose someone like us. Then what kind of women would they choose? I can work towards becoming that kind of person. Can you tell me? Someone who graduated from a top university, who comes from a supportive family background and can provide emotional value. I actually knew someone before. He was also kind of rich with an annual income of about 3 to 5 million yuan, but he was really stingy. I wanted him to buy me a new Hermes bag, but he would only give me new Chanel bags. I just felt like he was being cheap. Don't you think giving me a bag like that makes me look low class? I think in the adult world, relationships are about mutual support and exchanging value. What have you contributed to him, may I ask? I spent time with him. I went out with him and had meals with him. My youth is priceless. You need to understand that his time is also priceless. Time is valuable for everyone. Everyone's youth matters. I just wanted an Hermes bag. Why did he give me a Chanel bag instead? You're already amazing. I think you could start teaching courses yourself. You're incredible. Although I'm currently in Shenzhen, my hometown is Heze. I want to bring my future boyfriend back to my hometown to develop his career. Are you crazy? What opportunities are there in Shenzhen? And what opportunities are there in your hometown? What you're saying goes against all logic. Everything you're saying is backwards. This is unrealistic. You're just talking nonsense. Do you understand? How much bride price would it take to marry you? It's cheaper now. About how much? About 2 million yuan. 2 million? Are you kidding? Is 2 million too much or too little? Too much, ma'am. This is already a discounted price. I've lowered it. Originally, no one would dare to marry me if it was 10 million yuan. Now I don't even know whether anyone would want me for 2 million. We'll see. Many older single women who have seen too much advice online mistakenly believe that an extremely high bride price is a symbol of status and a way to prove their own value. But excessive bride prices, unrealistic expectations, and one-sided demands in relationships have exposed real problems in the marriage market. These issues have caused some men to change their attitudes. They're no longer blindly trying to please others or emptying their wallets to meet unreasonable expectations. The bride price is 10 million yuan. Hey, are you daydreaming? Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and leave. Can you even come up with 10 million yuan? A 28-year-old woman from Chengdu became the center of discussion after saying on a matchmaking platform that anyone who wanted to marry her would have to provide a 10 million yuan bride price. After coming on stage, she first introduced her job in the beauty industry, saying she supported herself without relying on her parents. She talked at length about her inner qualities, self-improvement, and personal values. However, since this was a matchmaking event, some people found it awkward that she was unwilling to show her appearance. After already meeting six or seven men through matchmaking, she finally hesitantly spoke to the matchmaker. I have one small request. I'm not sure whether I should say it. Just say it. What is there to be afraid of? The bride price is 10 million yuan. As soon as those words came out, the entire audience was stunned. The demand shocked many people, and even the matchmaker couldn't accept it. The matchmaker said she was only hosting the program and couldn't be too harsh, so she reluctantly replied, You're really putting me in a difficult position. I can't find you someone who can provide 10 million yuan. When asked why she wanted a 10 million yuan bride price, the woman said, Because life is very long. Only then will he truly cherish me. She remained firm in her belief and continued telling the matchmaker, I believe in you. I came all the way from Sichuan just to find you. Before she could finish, she was interrupted. Believing in me won't help. Even if you believe in me, it still won't help. In the end, the matchmaker looked at the woman and decided not to argue further. She gently tried to persuade her. Sweetheart, honestly, my stage can't fulfill what you're looking for. Let me bow to you. Sweetheart, I'm sorry. The matchmaker then delivered one of her most memorable lines, I really can't find you someone with 10 million yuan. If you insist on waiting until the end of time, by then you may no longer be worth 10 million yuan. After the 28-year-old woman had her microphone taken away, she still wanted to say something. But facing the embarrassing situation, she had no choice but to leave the stage. Many people online commented that this was not a matchmaking appearance, but more like someone trying to disrupt the event. They said that even someone with 10 million yuan would not want to open a blind box when they were not even allowed to see the person's appearance. Making such a confident demand for 10 million yuan seemed unreasonable. One person commented, if someone doesn't even understand their own value, making excessive demands is simply foolish. Later, the woman publicly apologized, saying she had watched too many short dramas and had no real understanding of money. She said the amount was something she casually said without thinking. This reflects one of the biggest challenges in today's dating and marriage market. Some men are choosing to walk away and avoid emotional and financial pressure, while some women struggle to develop realistic expectations. Online fantasies and unrealistic relationship advice is partly to blame. A marriage counselor posted a video online. You really can't imagine how difficult it is with some older single women today unless you work in this industry. Just today, I met three older single women looking for matchmaking services. One was born in 1990, one in 1988, and another in 1986. Their expectations completely changed my understanding. Let me start with the woman born in 1990. She has an ordinary appearance, earns only 4,000 yuan a month, has no savings at all, and is currently renting. But she requires the man be born in the 1990s, be at least 180 cm tall, and own a fully paid-off home in the city. The second woman, born in 1988, works in the public sector and is slightly overweight. She wants a man with an annual income of at least 300,000 yuan. The last woman, born in 1986, said she runs her own business. She is 40 years old and still unmarried. And she said she has never been in a relationship in her life. Since she came to me, I suggested that she find someone who is healthy, kind, and able to live a stable life together. But then she gave me another requirement. She would not accept anyone over 50. She only wanted a high-quality man between 35 and 45 years old with an income of no less than 200,000 yuan. I told her that wouldn't work. In China, marriage is increasingly seen by some as a transaction. High bride prices, cars, homes, and various additional requirements have made many young people feel that marriage is becoming a material exchange. This phenomenon has sparked widespread discussion. On one hand, some expectations are far removed from reality. Some women with ordinary circumstances demand that their partners earn millions of yuan a year and own fully paid-off homes and cars while overlooking how limited such highly sought-after partners are among people of the same age. On the other hand, some people focus only on what they can receive, expecting a partner to take on all financial responsibilities. Meanwhile, they're unwilling to share household duties or care for elderly family members. This one-sided approach conflicts with the idea of equality and mutual support. More concerning is that some people, driven by anxiety or bias, set unrealistic standards and view marriage as a way to move up the social ladder, hoping it can solve all financial problems at once. When all expectations are placed on a single support system, marriage can shift from an emotional choice to a negotiation over price. Bride price is simply the most visible number in this negotiation. The essence of marriage should be mutual support and companionship, not prices and bargaining. If society continues to encourage this, marriage rates will continue to decline.