A bride stranded thousands of kilometers away wasn't enough to stop a wedding ceremony in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province after the groom convinced his fiancée's sister to take her place.

Groom Liu Wei, 30, persuaded his almost sister-in-law to put on a dress and save him thousands of yuan in banquet hall fees when it was clear his beloved wasn't going to make it for the early April ceremony.

The intended bride, Xiong Yanbo, 25, was held up in her hometown in Sichuan Province and could not secure a ticket back to Shenzhen.

Xiong's sister was reluctant at first, saying that she had not even have a boyfriend.

But she eventually helped her absent sis tie the knot in front of around 300 guests. The stand-in sister even "helped" seal the ceremony with a kiss, according to a restaurant employee.

"After all, the ceremony is just going through the motions and a way to make people get together and have some fun," said Liu.

Nandu Daily