Nagoya Wedding

Today I just got back from Nagoya which is in the Aichi prefecture (prefectures are like states here. . .even though the whole country is smaller then California. . .hahahha). My good friend, Yukiko, got married and her and her husband are from Nagoya but live in Tokyo. But actually soon they will be moving back to Aichi. . .I don't think Nagoya but Aichi.

Nagoya is known for throwing lavish weddings and for me. . . I have nothing to compare to but here is the run down on a Japanese wedding. . . it's by far WAY more lavish then any American wedding I've been to. First off. . .neither Yukiko or her husband come from rich families and neither are really extravagant people. I don't think I've ever seen a name brand on either of them. Yukiko is a really relaxed girl who is adorably herself. Alot of her cloths her mother makes. So I'm assuming this wedding was just the norm. . . but it was anything but that for me. :) I had a lot of fun! I felt like I was at a celebrity wedding.

First. . . when I got there it was at a hotel and it was an Italian looking hotel. We signed in which was normal and got a wedding brochure thingy. . .this was all normal. I knew I was special though because I was the only foreigner there. . .and most of these people are close friends/ family to Yukiko and Takuya. (In Japan the wedding itself can just be family and that's normal. The second party is where all the friends come. . . there were like 200 at the second party of Yukiko's and Takuya's.) I think there were about 70 people there. I was really honored. But scared at the same time. . .hee hee hee. After signing in we were able to have a drink if we cared to.

Second we went into the cellar where the wedding was held. It was really cool and intimate. THere was wine all along the walls and it was really beautiful and dimly lit. We had pews to sit in and it was just beautiful.

Third. ..after the wedding we went into the dinning hall which was SO beautiful! Wow. . . we had name cards and at each seat was a gift bag. . . not a little thingy that is clear and is a party favor at like. . .a kids party but a really nice bag with 3 boxes in it. . 1 was a sponge cake! 1 was a beautiful catalog you are allowed to order 1 thing for free from as a gift(these gifts range from pajamas to a new frying pan, to a nice purse, to Burberry perfume, to food, to . . . anything), and 1 was 2 nice hand towels. Also the table to beautifully decorated. . .also a million utensils. .I know a lot of you are use to using more then 1 fork or spoon but there were 3 knives, 2 forkes, 2 spoons, and like 5 glasses. . . .hahahahha. . .I had no idea what to do with sooo much dish ware. We had champaign, beer, wine, water, etc on each table to chose from. Japanese people love beer.

fourth What else. . . . oh, so we sat down and they came in and they brought out pizza to each table. Yukiko and Takuya did. It was cute. . . they wanted to welcome us all. . . so the pizza was the appetizer I believe. After that the . . what I thought was the main course came out. . it was a rice dish and pasta. One side was rice and one side was pasta and ontop of the pasta was a whole crab. . it was a small crab but still a freaking crab.

fifth. . .I was soo full from the "main course". But then they took those plates and brought out Tai which is a celebratory fish in Japan. It was Tai with some veggies. . . mmm. . main course 2?

Sixth after the Tai (I tried it. . .but was sooo full. . oh, just to let you know I've been eating more and more fish because of working at a junior high school we have fish at least twice a week) they brought out a beef dish with mashed potatoe and veggies. . . I tried it but was sooo full still.

seventh. . . they brought out ice cream!!!! I was sooo excited because I love ice cream and it was sherbet which I really love too. I have to say I ate it all. hahahaha.

Eighth but after the sherbet they then brought out lovely pieces of cake. . .with a strawberry, grape, and melon piece on top. It was beautiful and tasted very nice. . .but I didn't finish it.

That was the end of the never ending meal. . .hahahah. . . .oh, but in the middle of the reception. . . Yukiko and Takuya changed their clothes!!!! She first wore a white dress and then changed into a beautiful salmon colored dress. He was in a nice tux/ suit and then he changed into kind of a loung suit with a fancy hankerchief thingy . . . hard to explain.

We had a slide show during the wedding. . .an amazing song sung by 3 cousins and 2 sisters. . amazing. Also an interesting song sung by the groom (he didn't know about this) and 4 guys who dressed up as women who loved him. . it was funny. The bride and groom went around and lit each tables candles. . . The bride and groom thanked their parents. . . etc.

After the wedding I went to my hotel. A couple at my table were soo kind and drove me to my hotel and picked me up an hour later to take me to a famous castle in Nagoya but it was closed. We then went to the 2nd party at 6pm. When we came in we payed and got a bingo card and a polaroid taken of us. Next we sat down and guess what! They brought out the food. . .hahahhaha. . .the wedding itself ended at 3pm and this was at 6pm. . I was not hungry at all but I'd just paid like 60 dollars so I was going to eat. It was good food too . . . .spagetti. . .pork slices, fried chicken (not like KFC but nice), salad, sandwiches. . .etc. . .more like party food. We played Bingo where people won a PSP, Wii , Work out ball, Coffee, 100 dollars, etc. crazy huh? It was a lot of fun to see all the people come together to celebrate Yukiko and Takuya. Seriously the second party was crazy!!! hahhahahahha.

I also know for a fact that there was 3rd party because Yukiko told me her mom made her a dress for it. hahahhaha. crazy huh? It was lovely.



I took the Shinkansen for the first time! It's like a space shuddle train. Very fast though. It usually by car takes 4 hours to Nagoya but by this train it took 1 hr and 40 minutes. but it cost me 20,000 yen too which is like 200 dollars.



Yukiko and Takuya (she's in her white dress)



Here they are lighting everyone's candles



This is Ai who is the crazy but wonderful lady who I sat by at the reception. Her and her boyfriend, Teppe, took me around Nagoya.



At the end of the second party Yukiko and Takuya had to go through a tunnel of people to leave. it was funny.





I love Yukiko (oh, they gave out suckers at the end of the second party as favors)



I love Takuya too ;)