In a traditional Japanese ceremony at Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社), on May 30, my good friends Alex and Yumi tied the knot.
I was invited as one of 3 guests to the intimate ceremony.Modern Japanese people often opt for the modern style wedding celebrations held in elaborate new buildings designed specifically for these events for 10s or 100s of people. Having been to one of these about 3 years ago I was interested in the old school style.
After morning photos with the professional photographer (bride and groom fully dressed), preparations for the ceremony take place about an hour before the actual ceremony in a small room in the temple. Normally the strict rules and procedures are explained, practised, explained again and practised again (like all things traditional Japanese) with only the bride, groom and family members. Being my first experience with this type of wedding, I was lucky enough to also participate in this briefing as my interpretation skills were required for Alex’s family members.
Although Alex had expressed to me his concerns regarding his Japanese vows on several occasions, like the entire ceremony, was delivered smoothly without any problems.
Despite the thunderstorms and heavy rain in the morning, the skies cleared in the afternoon allowing for another round of photos to be taken outdoors with the floating torii (in above photo) as backdrop ending a beuatiful wedding.
Retiring to the ryokan for refreshments, the wedding party having travelled from Nagoya and Ehime, enjoyed the beautiful views that make Miyajima one of Japan’s top 3 views.
Congratulations to Alex and Yumi!
