Japanese Weddings, anyone been to one?
Discussion
My girlfriend's sister in Tokyo is getting married next week and we're going over there for it. I'm starting to get a bit nervous about the etiquette involved, knowing how important it is Japan - has anyone been to one before? I'm expecting my gf to tell me what I need to know, but she has a tendency to tell me essential rules after I've already insulted someone. 
From what I can gather so far, it sounds like quite an informal restaurant bash.
(Apparently it's normal to pay £500 cash as a wedding gift, luckily she managed to get us out of that one....).
From what I can gather so far, it sounds like quite an informal restaurant bash.
(Apparently it's normal to pay £500 cash as a wedding gift, luckily she managed to get us out of that one....).
fathomfive said:
robinhood21 said:
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Well said.
It's supposed to say "Sorry, but I have never been to a Japanese wedding." But, Google translate is not up to it, I fear.robinhood21 said:
fathomfive said:
robinhood21 said:
？？\、μ- ó、、è、Ü、¹、ñ、ª？？"ú -（、ÌŒ"？？¥ Ž ®、É？？、Sは,½,±, Æ、ª、È 、¢？？Bの
Well said. It's supposed to say "Sorry, but I have never been to a Japanese wedding." But, Google translate is not up to it, I fear.? ? \, Μ-ó,, è, Ü, ¹, ñ, ª? ? "ú - (, ÌŒ"?? ¥ Ž ®, É??, S is ,½,±, Æ, ª, È, ¢?? B of
Who knew?
Yes, it was weird. A mate married a Japanese girl, but I don't know how traditional it was. I got rather drunk, and then my mate surprised me, asking me to make the speech. I still don't forgive him for that! But the celebration with the family went on for 3 days (of eating and drinking). That required a good week of detox!
evenflow said:
Wear a cravat, it's all the rage over there.
You can wear what you like over here. I have seen blokes in blouses, one kid on a train today with one trouser leg rolled up and lots of other fashion 
s.One thing I would say is don't get pished too quickly - if they are doing the full monte then there will be three parties in the evening (one after the other) and as you are family, it is likely that you are going to be going to all of them!
Good luck - I would love to go to a Japanese wedding - looks v interesting.
If you fancy a beer in Tokyo at the end of next week onwards, drop me a pm.
Edited by GlenMH on Thursday 17th September 15:15
Neil_H said:
From what I can gather so far, it sounds like quite an informal restaurant bash.
and you can have another one Weddings over here are massive and I will be amazed if it is an "informal restaurant bash". Of course, you may have only been invited to that bit of it...
Neil_H said:
(Apparently it's normal to pay £500 cash as a wedding gift, luckily she managed to get us out of that one....).
Yup and the families keep track of who pays what. The idea is that you contribute at least the cost of your meal and drinks for the day. The bride and groom usually make a profit out of their wedding....GlenMH said:
Neil_H said:
From what I can gather so far, it sounds like quite an informal restaurant bash.
and you can have another one Weddings over here are massive and I will be amazed if it is an "informal restaurant bash". Of course, you may have only been invited to that bit of it...
Neil_H said:
(Apparently it's normal to pay £500 cash as a wedding gift, luckily she managed to get us out of that one....).
Yup and the families keep track of who pays what. The idea is that you contribute at least the cost of your meal and drinks for the day. The bride and groom usually make a profit out of their wedding....
) - if you're going to start a new life together, best not be in debt at the beginning of it for the sake of one days' frivolity.GlenMH said:
One thing I would say is don't get pished too quickly - if they are doing the full monte then there will be three parties in the evening (one after the other) and as you are family, it is likely that you are going to be going to all of them!
TEKNOPUG said:
They go on for about 4 days and you eat and drink non-stop (from my limited experience anyway).
So my experience was normal then! I had to do the Roc d'azur mountain bike race in France 2 days after I got back from a week getting smashed in Japan - which was a epic disaster!
One bit all us westerners throught was odd/strange/a laugh was they took a video camera down to the kitchen, and filmed the food preperation and cooking, and spoke to the chef about our meal - all beamed up to a projector screen upstairs where the function was. Japan, odd!
GlenMH said:
Neil_H said:
From what I can gather so far, it sounds like quite an informal restaurant bash.
and you can have another one Weddings over here are massive and I will be amazed if it is an "informal restaurant bash". Of course, you may have only been invited to that bit of it...
GlenMH said:
Neil_H said:
(Apparently it's normal to pay £500 cash as a wedding gift, luckily she managed to get us out of that one....).
Yup and the families keep track of who pays what. The idea is that you contribute at least the cost of your meal and drinks for the day. The bride and groom usually make a profit out of their wedding.... Seeing as we're having to pay over a grand in flights we got off with bringing some gifts instead....Thanks for the offer, we're in Tokyo for about a week before going down to Osaka and then over to Kyuushu where her parents live, so not sure how much time we'll have but if I can do a beer, I'll drop a pm!
Neil_H said:
I do know that there are at least 2 parties, the first just with my GFs family, about 30 people. This is at a restaurant, then there's a second one, I *think* at another restaurant. I don't know if there's a cermony inbetween, or if the ceremony is at the restaurant, or afterwards. Her sister has spent £4000 hiring a wedding dress for 2 hours, but I'm assured it's not overly formal.....
The ceremony may well be in tradition Japanese dress at the shrine before the lunch starts. Then there will the western "wedding" at a chapel with a very authentic "vicar", which is where the full meringue will get worn. HOW much?!??!?? F*** me!Then the parties with a ball gown on etc.
You are lucky that you have missed the pre-wedding photography sessions that are full dress rehearsals and modelling sessions in beautiful locations.
It is really really big business over here!
Off to bed as it is after midnight
Edited by GlenMH on Thursday 17th September 16:22
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