What you may see at a Japanese Wedding

Sep 8, 2009

If you have been invited to a classical Japanese wedding, or if you have been wondering about wedding traditions in general, you will see that there are some amazing points about a Japanese wedding ceremony that make it one of a kind from other similar events. A Japanese wedding could be Buddhist, Shinto, or Christian in nature, or it might be specifically non-religious. The style of the wedding may have more to do with the couple's taste than their religious preference.

Traditional Japanese weddings are named Shinto style weddings; these ceremonies are private, and are held in shrines. Only intimate families attend a Shinto wedding, but sometimes there will be an older couple that attends the ceremony in order to serve as the matchmakers. The ceremony consists of customs that include drinking sake, and in more modern context, the exchange of wedding bands. The bride and groom's families will exchange drinks of sake as well to show that the two families are now as one. Japanese brides wear a shiromuku, a white kimono, for wedding dresses, while the grooms will wear montsuki, a formal black kimono, and the wide legged trousers known as hakama.

When the service concludes at the Shinto shrine, it is time to celebrate the union, and the extended family, friends, co-workers of the couple can gather for the celebration. The dress is typically very formal and it is not uncommon to see women in suits as well as kimono in attendance.

An invitation to a Japanese wedding should be replied to as soon as possible and one should not forget that a gift of cash is very important. Unless a fixed amount is indicated on the invitation card, you will need to decide on the level of intimacy that you share with the couple; a greater degree of intimacy involves a larger cash gift. It is standard to give the cash in crisp new bills, which are put into an envelope, named shugi-bukuro, and your name is nicely printed on the front of it. The guests will be presented with gifts as well in the form of wedding mementos known as hikidemono; lately there has been a fad where the guests get to pick their gifts from a catalogue.

The wedding party is normally a very charming event, where the new couple sits on a stage and many people sing songs of celebration or congratulations for them. In many cases, you will see a Western kind of wedding cake, and often the couple will walk around the room lighting candles and chatting with their guests. Rather than staying in their formal wedding dress, the bride will likely change into a less formal kimono.

A Japanese wedding can take customs from a lot of different cultures and traditions, and it is just as likely to see Japanese brides wearing elegant Western wedding dresses as it is to see them in a formal white kimono and elaborate headdress. If you are invited to a Japanese wedding, you may wish to ask what is customary and what the couple is expecting from their guests. No matter what part of the world you may come from, you will see that a wedding is a means to celebrate with a loving couple their happiness and joy.