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Japanese???

ChrisAngel!ChrisAngel!
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in Asian Weddings
Anyone incorporating their Japanese culture into their wedding?  I am a halfie and I would love to incorporate my japanese heritage into my wedding, but not go overboard with it.  So far, we are definitely having origami cranes for the place cards and the kagami-biraki ceremony.  Any thoughts?  What are you doing to incorporate Japanese themes into your wedding?  I'd love to hear them!
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Re: Japanese???

  • shigaitesshigaites
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We're going to be doing a bouquet pull rather than a bouquet toss.  The bouquet pull has been the default thing in weddings here in Japan for several years now and has been in every wedding I've been to here.

    The owner of the local sake brewery is being a dream and donating bottle of sake to us to serve at the reception.  I'm really psyched about that.

    We'll also be incorporating some bingata-style fabrics into the decor.  I haven't decided if we'll be doing the cranes.  I think it will come down to time.

    Finally, some of the food on the buffet will be from recipes friends have given me.  No sushi though.  Sushi on buffets weirds me out and you never see sushi at Japanese weddings anyway haha.
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  • kmatsumotokmatsumoto member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm a 4th gen japanese-american that grew up in Hawaii. I am doing the 1,001 cranes which are going to be arranged into a picture of two cranes flying within a circle. But maybe you'd like to also do a japanese toast instead? Instead of cheers you have two people, usually males with strong-deep voices lead banzai toasts. Here's a link with info if you're interested. http://jcch.com/japanese-traditions.asp

    I can't remember but I THINK the first toast is done by a guest outside the family. The second is done by a family member (which makes sense since it's a toast to the guests). Its kind of fun having everyone stand up yelling BANZAI and raising glasses. (Banzai is said by the toaster and everyone three times).
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  • ChokecherryChokecherry member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I found this that might be of interest to you.
    http://www.kyoto-weddings.com
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  • Tam79Tam79
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    This is exactly the board I was looking for. I too am Japanese American and want to inlcude delicate touches of my Japanese culture into my Atlanta wedding.

    Not quite sure everything I am going to do--I just started planning but I am thinking about the crane idea and also maybe incorporating the crane design onto my invitations.

    I am also thinking for the my place card holder in the front of the reception hall having trays filled with rice with the cards slid in the rice to direct guests to their tables.

    My father passed away and I am planning on having a memory table with traditional Buddhist offerings along with pictures of him and other relatives who have passed. I've also let my groom know that if he'd like to include his deceased family memembers that would be cool too.

    I'd love to hear everyone else's ideas! Good luck everyone!!
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  • annaandrjannaandrj member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If it helps, here's some ideas of mine:

    Wearing uchikake and kakeshita open over my bridal gown in a noveau twist towards the "hime" or Japanese princess "junihitoe" style.

    Using pictures of ikebana arrangements to help inspire me in arranging low-key and tasteful silk arrangments.

    Asking the person that is giving me away to act as the "Nakodo" or go-between. The groom's father is acting as his nakodo.

    Ok, ok. I did it. I ordered sushi for the cocktail hour.

    Origami has been banned.

    Sakura has been banned.

    Orchids have been banned.

    Minimal and clean lighting is being used, with nods toward Kabuki-style lighting.

    Lanterns are our motif. Not circular paper ones, but box rectangular ones.

    San-san-kudo ceremony is being done.

    I didn't want to seem I was relying on cliche and oft-used motifs for the wedding. In May I found that rose, hydrangea, peony, and spidermum were acceptable for the time of the year (as reflected by common kimono motifs during that part of the year). So maybe most won't see these flowers as particularly "Japanese", but they are in season with the kitsuke calendar. My goal was to have a Japanese-style wedding that didn't consist of plunking an orchid on a table and screaming, "Done!".
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  • annaandrjannaandrj member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oh, and chokecherry is a vendor. Not a real bride. I see her and her plugging her boss's wedding services page on her ebay account allllllllllll the time. I can tell very easily, since I am TRAINED in kimono kitsuke dressing, and even my teachers just rolled their eyes at their kimono dressing. One week on Ebay it's "I'm leaving the country", the next its "I have to sell half of my collection, pity me!"

    Oh, it gets worse.

    If you click on the page "Services" you'll see photos of people walking away from the camera, as if they don't even know their photo has been taken. Then, there are photos of Kyoto maiko (apprentice geisha) also on the page, and I can assure you, they have NOT given their consent, either. It's obviously taken from a spectator's pov. Even the true wedding photos are of the two people that actually RUN the business, and not other people's weddings. The atotori, or proprietress does not list the schools she has lisencing from to dress people. Wedding wear is something you must have an instructor's certification in. To be allowed to speak on behalf on the Shinto religion is another thing in itself. Real, real shady folks.

    Saying this just because a) dunno how long it would take the Knot to get to this, and b) givee people a head's up.


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  • shigaitesshigaites
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I've been thinking about having chinsuko to serve with the coffee and tea after the meal for people not interested in cake.  I wonder if I'll have them time to bake them right before the wedding though.
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  • bittymist1bittymist1
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am a Hapa as well and I am 1st generation Japanese-American in my family and doing a fusion wedding/reception. I am folding 1000 paper cranes to hang from the ceiling at my reception. I am hanging them off of monofilament fishing line with 25 on a strand. I also incorperated a sake and hot tea ceremony after the wedding but before the reception. I am wearing a red gown, having an obon altar for the memory of lost family and friends, and we asked the guest instead of traditional wedding gifts to give oshugi (a cash gift) for us to put toward our first house since we have everything we need in our apartment. There will be only the wedding party and the immediate family at or wedding ceremony and at the reception the groom and myself will light candles at each of the guest tables and greet them each with a hikidmona (gift or favor). But there is a theme other than all of these Japanese traditions. We are having a masquerade halloween ball and have encouraged the guest to wear a costume since our wedding will be a few days before Halloween....it will have the american traditions encorperated as well (bouquet toss, garter toss, $1 dance, cake cutting, first dances...it is going to be SOME eventSmile
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  • WestCoastCanadianGirlWestCoastCanadianGirl
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi!

    Just stumbled onto this thread and I absolutely LOVE it!

    I'm a Canadian born and raised Sansei who is marrying an Englishman in London, England, next November (our work schedules and the need for me to get a visa to emigrate have dictated this late date).

    While my DF and I are still in the planning stages, I thought that it might be fun to have our reception at one of these five places http://www.hrp.org.uk/
    (I would prefer The Tower of London or Hampton Court Palace) and add in some traditional Japanese touches as well.... a blending of our two backgrounds, so to speak.  As a send up to my Canadian upbringing, our wedding bands will likely be carved by a First Nations carver here in British Columbia (we will look next summer)... DF was born totally blind, so I thought that having a carved band would be something tactile that he could appreciate better than a plain gold band.

    Anyway, stepping back to the OP for oh so brief a moment, I was planning on doing the uchikake thing (I've got a white one to wear during the service and a multicoloured one to wear at the reception) and was puzzling about an irotomesode or even a kurotomesode to wear under it - I have always dreamd of and would prefer to go Nihon-gi at my wedding over a western wedding dress in this instance.... I consider myself to be a "western" woman, I'm marrying a "western" man and we will live in Europe, so I want to make sure that I don't forget my roots in all of this.

    I hadn't thought about the 1001 cranes but will definitely include them into my wedding (once we figure out a colour theme for the wedding, I'll get to work on fodling them).. will have to take a look at all of the other ideas that have come up and see how I can incorporate them into my special day.

    Thanks, Ladies, for your ideas in this thread... you've given me things from my ethnic background to think about that I'd more or less forgotten.

    Kate
    -Vancouver, Canada.
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