BEIJING - A total of 70.6 percent of Chinese believe wedding ceremonies are still necessary, and 72 percent think they should be any couple's most important memory, a survey has showed.

The survey released by the China Youth Daily newspaper on Tuesday found that half of 2004 respondents liked "warm and sweet" weddings, while 42.9 percent said they preferred simple ceremonies.

Some 28.9 percent claimed to like novel or innovative weddings. "Wedding planning companies have all kinds of themed ceremonies," said Xie Anqi, a Beijing postgraduate student.

Just over a third of respondents described traditional wedding ceremonies as rich with cultural connotation, but just under a third said traditional nuptials were too complicated and expensive.

Yu Yang from Beijing, said she didn't like some aspects of traditional ceremonies, and the complicated procedures made both the couple and families too tired.

Of the respondents, 72.7 percent were married, and 53.3 percent have held wedding ceremonies.