It had all the elements of a wedding - the bride, white dress, diamond ring, guests, seating arrangements, professional photographer - the only thing missing was the groom, and not by accident.

On Nov. 16, 30-year-old office worker Chen Wei-yih married the love of her life - herself.

The Taipei City-based woman, who is no longer single by her own admission, wanted to show other ladies who have hit their thirties without a manifested prince charming that they are not failures.

"You must learn to love yourself before you can love others," said Chen, who also plans to embark on a solo honeymoon to Australia after she quits her job as a study-abroad coordinator to the land Down Under.

Self-help platitudes aside, Chen explained that when a woman in Taiwan enters her thirties, getting married and having children becomes the main focal point among concerned family, relatives and friends, making a single, independent woman feel like a failure if she has none of those things.

Chen explained that although many people freely express their love for others through flowers, chocolates and expensive dinners, they are less inclined to pamper and shower the same love on themselves. By the same token, expressing your love for a man through marriage and a huge wedding banquet should be something you're willing to do for yourself. Self-marriage seemed like the logical solution, she concluded.

The self-betrothed woman said it was her wish that other single women will learn to self-love through her lavish example. The Oct. 16 ceremony rivaled that of couple nuptials the world over, involving a full white dress, wedding invites, bridesmaids, groomsmen and 30 guests who showed up at the Taipei City banquet hall Chen reserved. The newly wedded lady even created a Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/onlywedding) that encouraged fellow women to have "as much fun as I did."

Making it clear that she has had several boyfriends and relationships, some of which almost led to the altar, Chen described herself as neither unmarriageable nor against marriage to another person. She also considers this marriage non-binding, meaning she is free to marry someone else but if that opportunity does not arise, at least she made the commitment to forever love herself.

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