First post? :shock::razz: Have a great weekend everyone!

herrae monica-san,

I think in the long term the second one would good, because the wedding is the event only for one day, but the life after that will continue for a long time. :mrgreen:

Hi minna-san,

I have read somewhere that the hat the bride wears at a Shinto wedding is for her to hide her "horns". As if a bride were some kind of an oni before she unites with a man, or something like that.

Can someone give any more information on this?

Thanks a lot,

M.

I was a couple days late listening to this, but just as I expected, people would want to correct Peter-san's comment about Catholic nupital masses being standard for western/Christian wedding ceremonies.

The nicest thing about the sacrament of marriage according to the Roman Catholic faith is that the marrying couple bless & grace each other as they exchange vows.

But still, I wish we did a ramen reception rather than spending so much $$$.

Belton-san, thanks for sharing! ありがとうございました！And the ramen reception is where it is at!:grin:

Mique-san, thanks for the information! Don't be surprised if it shows up in part 3 of the series.:wink:

Ali17-san, that's great everyone showed up! And regarding the ceremony, I know the feeling!:grin: Still planning mine. At this rate, we're going to have 25th anniversary/1st vow and ring exchange.:wink: (Hope wifey doesn't find this comment.:lol:)

Nate-san! 久しぶりです！Long time! How have you been?

Very cool lesson. Very informative.

ネイト

We just did the city hall thing as well. We planned it in two weeks for Halloween and only wanted two people to come just to sign the papers but...our who family showed up anyway (about 20 people). We where all crammed into the judges office while she read a beautiful speech about love a commitment.

We are planning on doing a ring exchange ceremony someday when we have the money.

Yes, the bride's changing costumes twice or 3 times is called "お色直し(Oiro naoshi)", which means "changing colors".

By coincidence, today I was helping a friend and classmate prepare a presentation for Japanese class about his brother's wedding in Japan this June. Andrew-san has kindly alllowed me to post the photos on the web for you guys to see.

Later I hope to have some video snippets I'm preparing for him. Maybe if you're good I can put his 日本語　presentation up as well after he does it next month.

I quickly put this together. I'm amazed that the bride changed costume 3 times. White western style dress. tradition dress (back into white dress again) then a pink "bo-peep" style dress.

http://www.shiawase.co.uk/jpod/wedding/

If ever I do this I think I want to opt for the Ramen Reception.

I assume that the western style ceremonies have no religuos significance and are more about having a theme wedding. I wonder if the rings are a western introduction or was it always common in Japan? (I think the wedding ring was originally Roman)

On western culture class. In my parents day it was neccessary to fast from midnight before recieving communion (catholic church). Therefore wedding ceremonies were held quite early and the reception was a wedding breakfast.

I saw the pictures in the web site Alan-san posted.

This is exactly the style of wedding ceremony I had.

At Hirouen I drank too much because the guests poured bear, wine and sake into my glasses by turns! My face had turned entirely red when we took pictures in a new suits and dress.

Peter-san, I don't know how that happened. ;)

Brody-san, I haven't heard of that in Florida although I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. Seems like anything unusual that could potentially happen in Florida has already occurred.

Interesting to hear all the different wedding styles as well as the differences amongst religions. The Christian weddings that I have attended typically have some scriptural readings as well as communion which includes the congregation.

On a completely unrelated note, good luck to Japan in the Little League World Championship game later today. :D

Were you a “true Scotsman?”

No. No, I wasn't.

Does your family have a tartan?

I have no idea. I imagine my family on my step-Dad's side does, but I've never seen it. And I know from my Mom's side we have some Scottish in us somewhere, but I don't know about a tartan.

Daniel -san

I married with a Catholic ceremony to a non Catholic. There have been some changes after Vatican II (I am old enough to remember before VatII - ouch!) but basically the couple exchange vows in front of a priest in church. They nominate up to two people from each side attending as official witnesses, although the congregation also acts as witnesses in general.

You do not HAVE to have mass, as the wedding ceremony can stand on its own, althought it is considered more serious if you do (and, of course, most believers will have mass and communion as this is the key part of it). I don't know about the UK but in Italy the priest also does the civil record after the ceremony- I think in France you have to go to the registry office separately.

As you would expect Italian weddings end up in a very good restaurant for a mny course meal.....

About 地味婚　(じみこん), registry office weddings are now quite common in Italy and UK (especially for marriages between people who have been married before) but in the UK they are not necessarily simple. In fact loads of people delay they wedding because they want to splash out on a big cerimony - as a result fewer people get married!

A note for non-Westernes. 'Protestant is a term that can be applied to several confessions and these may well have very different usages, beliefs and interpretations- so always ask for details before making assumptions.

Jason-san,

my husband, although only by descent, is part of the Dunbar clan and his tartan can be seen at the following link:

http://www.scotclans.com/clans/Dunbar/tartan.html

(No, he did not wear a kilt on our wedding!)

Does your family have a tartan?

mikuji

Peterさん、

That sounds about right (I mean the Protestant part, dunno what to think about the ramen part :wink: ).

Our wedding was pretty much as you described above, minus communion (i.e. Eucharist, Lord's Supper), as we believe that communion is not a "private affair" to be observed, but a communal affair for the entire congregation.

We were fortunate enough at our wedding to have a trumpet player and an organ player. They sounded great!

Actually, I cannot contrast a Protestant wedding from a Roman Catholic one as I've never been to a Catholic wedding. What I can comment on is that Protestants don't have Mass (Since Mass is considered a sacrifice of Christ) in our worship services and we don't have a class of people called priests (we believe in what is called "the Priesthood of all Believers"). Instead, we usually refer to the celebrant as pastor, minister, reverend, etc…

Perhaps the safest way to refer to the "leader" at a wedding service is to use "celebrant". Especially in Japan, as many "Christian" wedding celebrants have no qualifications except that they are foreign, and the company figures no one will be the wiser. :roll:

I've never been to a Shizen wedding either, but at one hotel, we shared a dressing room with the priest. I was surprised to see they had a bunch of fresh veggies for the celebration. :shock: Maybe that would suit Our Vickyちゃん, the vegetarian. :lol:

Daniel-san, ramen is the standard.:wink: This is what I came up with:

The Protestant wedding differs from that of other religions in that it is a worship service through which the will of God is served and the Lordship of Jesus is proclaimed. The wedding guests are participants in the service by sharing in hymns, scriptural readings and responses to the couple's exchange of vows.

Sometimes the couple shares in communion during their wedding.

Please post more about the differences, as it's quite interesting.:grin:

スティーブン2112-san, they have some nice Denny's over here.:wink:

Mique-san, thank you for sharing!:grin: You're English is very good! Wow, a Shinto style wedding! Very interesting. Did you see the pictures that Alan-san provided? Could you comment on them if possible. Thank you! Again, great to have you join the community!:grin:

Brody-san, you are too funny! Are you the same Brody from the video? And, do they have a divorce menu too? :wink:

http://www.vowsweddingchapel.com/

Jason-san, great story. Were you a "true Scotsman?" I went to a friend's wedding in Scotland, and I was able to were a kilt. I got the Braveheart tartan.:wink:

Don't know about the Drive thru wedding, but the train station weddings sound very convenient!

Alan-san, thanks for the great link! Really nice pictures.:grin:

Katie-san, watching a wedding online!!! Wow, now that is interesting. Do you have a link?

My brother got married in Vegas because he didn't want his wife to meet my entire family .......we were all very disappointed because there is nothing my family likes better than a big party....luckily my brother called me an hour before the ceremony and I got to watch his vegas wedding live online!

The following site has some nice pictures of a shinto wedding. I do like the traditional bride's headdress. Shinto Wedding.

Brody san, Daniel Beck san,

If I could have done "drive through" or "train staion" wedding, I wouldn't have had to pay so much money! :eek:

My step-Dad is originally from London is part Scottish, and his brother-in-law is 1/4 Scottish. So when he and my Mom got married, he and his brother wore full Scottish wedding regalia. Kilts and all. Imagine this if you will. Two men dressed to the T in fancy Scottish garb, with kilts, in the middle of a tiny Baptist church in rural Louisiana. It was quite an experience. :mrgreen:

But the best part was on the way home from the reception, my Mom was thirsty and made my step-Dad get out at a local convenience store to get her something. Still in kilt and all. I wasn't there, but I hear he drew quite a bit of attention from the locals. :D

Brodyさん,

That's hilarious! :lol:

But, alas "drive through" is not much of a concept here. Maybe train station weddings would work.

Hmm, interesting....

Do they have the drive through weddings in Japan yet?

In Florida, you drive your car up to a window on the side of a chapel (with bride and groom in the car of course), sign some papers, and then you're married without even having to leave your car!

I think you can order a big mac while you're at it too!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!