We woke up to a beautiful, calm sunny day in Yamaguchi – perfect day for a wedding!

After a quick walk from the hotel, and a couple of sausage McMuffins at McDonalds, we got dressed and prepared for the wedding ceremony .

This morning's ceremony was held at Stella’s Café, a small neighbourhood café across from Haruna’s parent’s residence at 11 am. In attendance were Robert’s father and 2 older brothers, Haruna’s mother (Mizue) and father (Yasutoshi) and Mizue’s sister with her husband and daughter. There were no attendants for this wedding today.

In Japan no clergy or Justice of the Peace is required – once the couple sign the papers/licence, they are married. For this "western style" wedding, Robert and Haruna wanted a wedding to officially celebrate with family and friends. Greg was asked to conduct the ceremony today. He wrote the service then asked Hana, his sister-in-law, to assist with the translation so he could do the service in both Japanese and English, to accommodate those who only spoke one of the languages. He did a great job and Mizue said she understood most of what Greg was trying to say!

Interesting in Japan the women’s engagement rings are worn on their right hand and wedding bands on the left . Haruna wore a lovely off white cocktail dress and did not carry a bouquet for the service.

After the ceremony, there was a light lunch with a variety of sandwiches, some salad followed by a very light and delicious cake. We also enjoyed some Japanese red grapes, they were much larger than the ones we get at home and tasted like wine already!

We had a few minutes before heading back to the hotel so we took a walk up the street with Robert’s oldest brother Shaun – we showed Shaun some things looked the same from when we were here 6 ½ years ago – the ball diamonds and tennis courts were still there. The highway which was under construction before was now completed, and of course, Stella’s café had just opened up recently.

During the afternoon was perfect time for a little rest, and a short walk around Shin-Ymaguchi for us, before the evening festivities, while Haruna and Robert and Haruna’s parents were getting ready for this evening’s festivities. The wedding reception was held at our hotel (perfect!), Yamaguchi Grand Hotel. This hotel offered the full wedding services and it looked to be a popular choice. They offer the full bridal services in-house, florist, catering, wedding planner and of course, accommodations. (All of us staying on the 8^th floor!) Normally Japanese weddings have the bride and groom together before the reception, but for this occasion, they asked to be kept apart before their grand entrance .

Unlike our weddings in Canada, the bride only has someone from the hotel help her with her hair, make up and getting dressed, no family or attendants. Haruna chose a beautiful strapless white and beige gown with a beaded bodice and lace up down the back with a circular train. She looked absolutely beautiful!! Her parents were dressing in another area – for this evening’s events, they wore traditional Japanese kimonos. Robert wore a black tux – all looked very sharp!

Yasutoshi brought Haruna into the reception hall to give her away to Robert. Yasutoshi looked very sharp in his Traditional clothing and Haruna very beautiful in her Western wedding dress.

The reception hall was set up simply but elegantly – big fresh flower bowls and tealights made beautiful centerpieces. There were about 35 people in attendance. We sat at one of the tables at the front of the room with two of Haruna’s friends, each attending with their little ones . They both spoke a little English, so we did manage to chat with them during the reception. The first lady had an 8 month old daughter and the second lady a 14 month old boy – both were too cute!! We were surprised to see 2 cribs at the back of the hall – they were for the little ones to sleep during the reception.

The meal was more than amazing – very delicious and very beautifully presented. The menu consisted of 8 courses followed by not only a wonderful dessert table, but a “Cream Puff with Grand Chestnut Mousse”, then wedding cake! Unusual to us, throughout the meal, there were numerous things all happening one at a time, speech from Robert’s 2 brothers Shaun and Bryan, Robert and Haruna visiting each table for the wedding photographer to take a group shot, a trivia game about Haruna & Robert, Bride and Groom’s parents visiting each table pouring beer for each of the guests (a Japanese custom) and watching the video Greg created for the bride and groom . There was a break about half way when people were invited to come up and get an instant photo (think Polaroid if you are old enough!), wearing some of the various props – some looks were just too funny and priceless, such as some of the ladies dressed in beautiful traditional kimonos wearing red sponge noses!

The reception was closed by speeches from Robert’s father, George and both of Haruna’s parents. At the conclusion, all the guests line the way for the bride and groom to pass through to exit the hall.

After the reception, some people changed clothes before we headed to the “after party”, a much more casual event. We walked to a restaurant / bar across the street and behind the Shin-Yamaguchi train station from our hotel. There everyone paid about $24. CDN for an “all you can drink” get-together with casual conversation over drinks and a few snacks. This lasted for several hours and then it was time to walk back to the hotel for a good nights sleep, after this very good day.