The Traditions Japanese Wedding Ceremony

Spring and summer is the height of wedding season in America, though lately Christmas weddings have become more popular than bad singers on American Idol. In Japan, spring is also a big season for weddings, but the Japanese prefer to bypass the summer vacation season to practice the Oriental art of gettin' hitched in the cool, cool of the fall. Japanese weddings are, as you might expect, highly traditional. Obviously, all weddings are exercises in ancient ritual, the meaning of which eludes all but the most dedicated of folklorist, but compared to general traditions associated with most western weddings, getting married in Japan is a truly amazing experience.

For instance, remember those old movies where the prospective bridegroom had to show up at the house of his intended and ask her father for permission to take his daughter's hand in matrimony? The Japanese are, it must be admitted, a bit more-shall we say formal-than most westerners. An ancient Japanese wedding tradition known as Mi-Ai still takes place today, though it is not quite as stiff and restrictive as in days of yore. Until the turn of the century, the "Mi-Ai" interview of a man and woman was more of a formality than an opportunity to know each other with a view to marriage. The Mi-Ai interview was an occasion for the once and future groom to wrangle an invitation to the house of a possible wifely opportunity. Should the woman have drawn his favor, the prospective groom would signify his intentions by leaving behind a token of his acceptance in the form of a fan. And if the object of the groom's intentions were not as favorably impressed? Well, now that hardly mattered, of course. The Mi-Ai interview

still lives on today in a far less formal arrangement; today the meeting is set up by a mediating go-between with the intention of letting the potential bride and groom get to know each other better. It can only be assumed, I would hope, that if the meeting doesn't impress the prospective bride that she need not go through with the union.

Source Article : http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/233629/japanese_wedding_ceremony_traditions.html

Traditional White Japanese Wedding Kimono

The traditional white japanese wedding kimono is called shiro-maku. Shiro meaning white and maku meaning pure. The wedding kimono actually consists of two different kimono. The white wedding kimono is worn for the wedding ceremony and an elaborate rich patterned silk brocade kimono called uchikake is worn over the white kimono at the wedding reception.

wedding kimonoThe bright and colorful uchikake kimono originated in the Edo era and originally only worn by court nobles. The kimono is made of silk and silk brocade. Rich in fine embroidered patterns, the uchikake is embellised with scenes of flowers, cranes, pines, flower carts or nature motifs. While red is the most popular color for the uchikake kimono, there are many different colors available from a stunning imperial purple to sea green. The bridal kimono is sometimes handed down in the family or made into futon bedding later in life.

In a traditional Japanese wedding, the brides hair is also styled in the traditional hair style called bunkin-takashimada and adorned with beautiful gold combs and accessories called kanzashi. A white wedding hood called tsuno kakushi is meant to hide two front golden "tsuno" or horns during the wedding ceremony to symbolize obedience.

Like American weddings, there are traditional wedding accessories that are worn for tradition and are said to bring good luck. The bride carries a small purse style sack called hakoseko and a small encased sword called kaiken. Lastly, a fan is worn in the obi belt for tradition holds that the gradual widening of the open fan implies happiness and thus brings a happy future. JapaneseWeddingFavors.com carries a wonderful selection of Japanese wedding favors, wedding presentation ideas and information on Japanese wedding and Japanese wedding traditions.

Source Article :http://www.japanesekimono.com/wedding_kimono.htm

Christmas Wedding Invation

Christmas Wedding

Christmas Weddings can be quite economical and fun at the same time. It also makes your wedding anniversary, automatically, the most memorable day too. You can save loads of money on Christmas wedding decorations as churches and reception areas are normally already decorated during the holiday season in the traditional decor that goes well with the Christmas theme wedding. Even when there is no Christmas, people opt for Christmas themed weddings because of the warmth and festivity we associate with the season. All the tinsel, snow, ornaments, sparkles and glitter associated with Christmas make it an appropriate choice for making it the biggest day of our lives.

In this section, we will cover all the aspects of a wedding and try to give you suggestions to help you conform them to the theme of Christmas. Our articles include Christmas attire covering the dress of the bride, bridesmaid, flower girls and the bouquets that they carry; decoration ideas for wedding ceremony and reception; choice of flowers, party favors, music, menu of the feast and transportation; and even for Christmas wedding invitations and announcements and transportation ideas. The main colors of the wedding are snow white, festive red and forest and hunter green. Silver and gold can be used to add the glitter and religious symbols such as Christmas candles and trees play an important role in Christmas weddings. Explore this Christmas wedding section for more tips and ideas.

Christmas Wedding Planning

Christmas wedding it's the most wonderful time of the year, your family is gathered around you, and the church is already decorated. Why not have a Christmas wedding? Here are ideas and tips to have a fantastic Christmas wedding with all the trimmings.
Wedding Colors:
Red and green are natural colors for a Christmas wedding – It is likely that your church or reception site will already be decorated in red and green for other events and holiday parties. But don't feel limited to this palate. Other possibilities, which will work with existing decorations, include:

* silver and white
* silver and light blue
* burgundy, forest green, and gold (as long as the existing decorations aren't too primary)
* gold and cream

Christmas Wedding Invitations:
You'll want to reflect the season and your theme, but you won't want it to look like a holiday card. The solution? Forgo a folded card, opting for the traditional thick white card, with a border and engraved or thermo-graphed text. You can highlight the Christmas wedding theme in the border with white snowflakes, an elegant holly trim, or a drawing of a poinsettia.

Since people make plans for the holidays early, and often have many parties and events to attend at this time of year, you'll want to send your invitations a little bit early – about 12 weeks before the event. You might also consider "save the date" cards in addition to the invitations, which will ensure that those most important to you will be able to attend.
Wedding Cake:
Having each tier look like an individually wrapped package is a popular look that is perfect for a Christmas wedding. You might also do a take on a buche noel or yule log, with a tiered chocolate cake that has holly – either real or made of gum paste – cascading down the side. Use marzipan, an almond paste used in many holiday desserts, as a filling.
Bridesmaids Attire for a Christmas Wedding:
My favorite bridesmaid look for a Christmas wedding is long dresses with shrugs or capelets and a big faux-fur muff. But you can dress them in your wedding colors, give them long wraps or sparkly accessories, all of which will help evoke your theme.
And the Bride Wore:
A Christmas wedding dress needn't be that different from any other kind. Wear the one that flatters you most, and top it off with a long red velvet cape. Or embrace the trend of color in wedding dresses by adding a beautiful red silk sash to the waist of your gown. You could also seek a dress with lots of sparkly beads and sequins to evoke the snowiness of the season. And of course, a faux-fur wrap and muff are always fun.
Flowers and Décor:
Since flowers can be more expensive at this time of year, think creatively. A mirrored platter with pillar candles and sprigs of holly is both elegant and romantic. Buy ornaments in bulk on-line, and create centerpieces of bowls or vases of ornaments. For a simple but elegant look, put pots of poinsettia with a ribbon trim in the center of each table. Fake snow used to be tacky, but there are now very good products available. Set candles or small flower arrangements in the middle of snow. And for my favorite touch, use fake snow instead of an aisle runner. Or, you can always hire a snow-making machine to really make your Christmas wedding a winter wonderland.
Related Articles

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Source Article : http://weddings.about.com/od/traditionscolorsthemes/a/christmasweddin.htm

Having a New Years Wedding

There cannot be a more a romantic way to ring in a new year than with a celebration of marriage! We put together some ideas and tips to help plan your New Years Eve Wedding.

Invitations:
Send out "save the date" cards as soon as you know the date, and send out your invites three months in advance instead of two just to give your guests plenty of time since it is a holiday.
For the invitation style, choose white and gold or white and silver. Also to make the wording special by adding a phrase like, "A new year, a new beginning" or "A countdown to the rest of our lives


Favors:
Small bottles of champagne with personalized labels, chocolate covered fortune cookies with a new years fortune, a cd with your favorite hits from the past year with a personalized label, bells with a label that says "ring in the new year with your names", have someone take each guests instant photo as they arrive and place the photo in a personalized frame for them to take home with them when they leave.

Colors:
New years eve colors are typically black and silver or gold and silver.

Decorations:
To make a festive atmosphere, place noise makers , Party hats , candles, and confetti on the tables. Place balloons, white lights, and glittery snowflakes throughout. Place a large clock right behind the DJ to countdown, or have a large screen tv to watch the ball drop! Also, place balloons in netting over the dancefloor to drop down at the stroke of midnight.

Time:
Try to make it a late event, starting around 8:00pm. You want your guests to stay through the stroke of midnight to ring in the new year!

Food:
If you decide to serve a full meal, remind guests to have something light to eat before the event since they will be eating dinner later than usual(if your event starts at 8PM), but let them know you will be serving a full meal and to come hungry!

You may want to skip having a full meal and opt for hot appetizers offered throughout the night. You can serve hot wings, chicken/beef sticks, scallops and bacon, etc. Or, you can have stations set up so guests can help themselves.

Be sure to have plenty of coffee available throughout the night, or consider a coffee station when serving dessert.


These are just a few ideas to make your New Years Eve wedding special, but there are so many more possibilities to use your own creativity to add something unique to your special day.

Source : http://www.weddingphotousa.com/wedding_articles/new-years-wedding-theme-ideas.htm

Modern Wedding Card

This picture is modern wedding card. Make modern wedding card in your wedding.

Unique Wedding Card

This picture is unique wedding card. Make unique wedding card for your wedding.

Simple Wedding Card

This picture is simple wedding card. Make simple wedding card in your wedding.

Wedding Card

The wedding card picture are specially chosen to remind us of Gods special plan for marriage.

Pre Wedding Photo

this photo usually used for pre wedding.

Wedding Photographer

A couple of weeks ago, when I was still at the newspaper (strange to say that), I was killing some time after deadline and ended up on Craigslist. This isn’t odd since I could spend a whole day going through the “Free” and “Missed Connections” categories for hours. I love mocking people who write about falling in love with the guy they saw “over the pantyhose display.”

Julie and I had just recently sat down with a sales rep from a big-named wedding photography company who kept saying “our photographers do photojournalism to tell your story.” When I asked her how many photographers actually went to “J” school, she gave me a deer-in-headlights look and replied “Uh…I…don’t…know. No one has ever asked me that before…”

After she said that, I had images of the guy who takes photos of children for their school picture who employs the use of a stuffed animal to get the look of wonder from the child that will eventually have a laser background.

So I had wedding photography on the mind and randomly went through the “services” section (which, let’s face it, was only created for the “personal massage” section). And here, like a sweet flower rising from a mountain of crap, was Lisa Rigby.

In short, her site was astonishing. Look at the picture above. See how it looks like an advertisement or an album cover for a band? Essentially that’s what we wanted, a commercial declaring how awesome we are.

(Random: I think the couple there might be bizarro-world Fran and Julie…right?)

So, after a sit-down at a coffeeshop in Coolidge Corner, we were convinced of the majesty of the Rigby. We know you will too.

Other things I have found on Craigslist: a bookshelf, a couch, my current job at Brafton, and a date with a one-legged woman (I wish to GOD I was joking…).

Our engagement photos were taken yesterday, so prepare to have your mind blown.

Source Article : http://shoebang.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/you-can-now-add-wedding-photographer-to-the-list-of-awesome-finds-on-craigslist/

Diamond Wedding Ring