Duration: 2:08

ANCHOR: Donning the boxing gloves instead of bouquet, women prepare for their wedding day by undergoing intensive boxing training. What a way to start a marriage! STORY: Crunches, push-ups, swiping at punching bags and sparring are all part of the tough, pre-nuptial regime. It was designed by boxing coach and Hong Kong rugby player Andrew Wong Kee who spends most of his time training executives. Wong Kee's JAB gym also tailor-makes diets to ensure brides look their best for the big day. Boxing bride Jules Peedom, a recruitment specialist who is getting married in England next spring, says the training left her drained, but exhilarated. [Jules Peedom, Bride to Be]: "I am just exhausted. I am shaking all over my whole body, I'm so unfit. Just my hands, but yeah I feel good, but my arm is shaking." Marriage is big business in Hong Kong, a city steeped in both Chinese and western traditions, where brides often look forward to lavish weddings. Bridal shops, stocked with both white gowns and traditional Chinese red silk outfits, line the streets of posh neighbourhoods. Elaborate wedding banquets are common in Chinese restaurants and hotels across the densely populated city. Many brides spend their time ahead of the big day in planning the banquet or party venue, selecting photographers and consulting a fortune teller to select an auspicious date for the wedding. But these brides-to-be are undergoing both group classes and individual training sessions. They expect to train for up to a year before the wedding, hoping to lose weight and tone up for the big day. [Fiona Campbell, Bride to Be]: "I'm trying to get fit. Trying to lose weight and tone up at the same time. So I got really fed up with cardio at the gym, so I thought this was a really good alternative." Trying on traditional wedding dresses and eyeing potential wedding cakes, bride-to-be Campbell aims to trim down a few dress sizes for her wedding day. Campbell has done yoga and gym exercises before, but finds the boxing training good, as part of the challenge of preparing for marriage. At JAB gym, brides-to-be can opt for one-on-one training sessions or group classes that range from $96-$200 U.S. dollars. After a few sessions, the blonde brides say it will probably be worth the aches and pains. Although boxing is not the most feminine of sports, they see it as a fresh way to get fit.