Meaning:

    “素” means “plain and neat,” and “婚” means “wedding.” The term, coined by Chinese netizens, refers to the kind of simple wedding where people can save time, money and energy. While many couples choose to go through the routine Chinese wedding ceremony — limos to pick up the bride, reception and banquets at luxury hotels, emceed and videotaped by wedding planning firms — some others choose to cut the procedures to the minimum.

    Example:

    A: 你什么时候摆结婚喜宴？

    Nǐ shénme shíhòu bǎi jiéhūn xǐyàn?

    When will you hold your wedding ceremony?

    B: 我不打算摆酒，就在咖啡馆请双方亲戚喝下午茶宣布结婚了。

    Wǒ bù dǎsuàn bǎijǐu, jìu zài kāfēiguǎn qǐng shuāngfāng qīnqì hē xiàwǔchá xuānbù jiéhūn le。

    I’m not going to hold a big ceremony. I will just invite our relatives to afternoon tea at a cafe to announce the news.

    A: 原来你是要素婚啊。

    Yuánlái nǐ shì yào sùhūn a。

    So you are planning a “neat wedding.”

    B: 主要是不想给大家添麻烦，也不想给自己找麻烦。

    Zhǔyào shì bù xiǎng gěi dàjiā tiān máfán, yě bù xiǎng gěi zìjǐ zhǎo máfán。

    I just want to save people the trouble of attending a big ceremony and save myself the trouble of planning one.