The venue is reserved, the wedding rings custom-made and the search for the dress has begun. But Hong Kong protester May's nuptials are on hold because her friends oppose her marrying a policeman.

Six months of unprecedented protests in Hong Kong against eroding freedoms under Chinese rule have divided the city's population. Rifts in some cases have pitted relatives, friends and even lovers against each other.

May, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, is one of those who has seen the political become deeply personal, threatening to torpedo her February wedding. ”One of my closest friends -- my maid of honour -- told me that she's thinking about not attending my wedding,” May told AFP.

”I never thought about losing my friends... It makes me very, very sad,” the 28-year-old said. ”It has made me realise how fractured the relationship between the police and residents has become.”

Hong Kong's police were once hailed as an example for other Asia forces, but they have become a target of intense hatred to many pro-democracy protesters who accuse them of excessive force.

Since protests began, police have fired thousands of rounds of tear gas, along with rubber bullets and pepper spray. Viral images on social media of police hitting protesters with batons have fuelled the anger. Police have also occasionally used live bullets, with three people shot during clashes. None of the shootings resulted in deaths, but two of those shot suffered serious injuries.

Protesters have called for an independent probe into alleged police abuses, making it a key plank in their “five demands.” Police chiefs have insisted their officers have responded with restraint to violence from protesters throwing molotov cocktails, bricks and other objects.

May has been with her fiance for eight years, but says it wasn't until recently that his career become a bone of contention.

Friends have distanced themselves, and there have been tense moments when jokes about protesters and police have fallen flat. But she was still shocked when her best friend confronted her about the relationship after the pair went wedding dress shopping.

”She said: 'You're not married yet, you still have the choice',” May recounted. ”If he's seen this (misconduct) by the police and still thinks they have done nothing wrong, should you be with a person whose values are so different?” her friend asked.