Muslim brides show their hands decorated with henna paste as they wait for the start of a mass marriage ceremony in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 6, 2011
Muslim brides show their hands decorated with henna paste as they wait for the start of a mass marriage ceremony in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 6, 2011. A total of 151 Muslim couples from the across the Gujarat state took wedding vows on Sunday during the mass wedding ceremony organized by a Muslim voluntary organization, organizers said. Reuters

Mass weddings are increasingly becoming common worldwide and sometimes are preferred over regular weddings by couples because of economic reasons, as the costs for the venue, decorations, and sometimes celebrations afterwards can be shared between multiple families.

Mass weddings are common in Asian countries, especially China, Japan, Korea and India and some parts of the Middle East.

The last few years, several mass weddings have taken place around the world.

In 2009, 450 couples got married in Gaza with the blessing of the Hamas. each groom received a gift of $500 from Hamas.

On September 9, 2010, 163 couples got married in Taipei, Taiwan's capital. The reason? To celebrate the 9th day of the 9th month of the 99th year since the founding of Taiwan. Besides, the number nine called Geiu is auspicious in Chinese as it sounds like the word longevity.

On January 1, 2011, 100 couple assembled outside Taipei's Presidential Palace and took part in a mass wedding presided over by the Taiwanese president, in celebration of the self-ruled island's 100th anniversary.

On April 29-30, 2011, over 400 couples got married on the grounds of Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University as part of university's centennial celebrations. Among the couples in the two-day mass wedding, there were both faculty members and graduates.

On May 7, 2011, 350 couples in La Paz, Bolivia, got married in a coliseum. Bolivian President Evo Morales presided as the best man in the Andean mass wedding.

On June 23, 2011, about 40 gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows in Brazil to set a new world record for a mass gay wedding. Brazil's Supreme Court had recognized same-sex partnership in May.

Mass wedding is not limited to humans alone. On June 25, 2011, 124 dogs joined together in muttrimony but failed to break the world record for the largest mass dog wedding, falling short by about 230 dogs.

Check out the photos below of the mass weddings that took place around the world:

China India Japan Court