The Kaiseki Dinner and Maiko Dances

Friday, April 8th, Evening

After the ceremony at Okazaki shrine, Peter and Amy were changed out of their kimono and had a short rest before dinner that evening. The venue was the historical Tokan-so, a famous ryotei (traditional gourmet restaurant) located on the north side of Maruyama park, right in the heart of Gion nearby such locales as Yasaka shrine, Kodai-ji temple and Chio-in temple. Ryotei, historically open only to the elite and wealthy, are seen as the epitome of Japanese cuisine and hospitality. They often dot the outskirts of Kyoto and feature a private garden and at times accommodation.

岡崎神社にて挙式をあげられたAmy様と Peter様は再びブライダルカーにてKyotoWeddingsへ戻りお着替え後お食事会の料亭へ移動されました。円山公園の東側高台寺、八坂神社、知恩院、祇園などの人気の観光地に囲まれた場所にあるのが東観荘です。レトロさと和風が混ざった落ち着いた料亭です。

Entering Tokan-so were surprised by the cherry blossoms arrangement decorating the entrance. The lobby also features a dry garden art piece designed by Tokan-so's owner, as well as a display of Noh drama costumes.

まず玄関をくぐると石畳ときれいに手入れされた中庭そして扉を開けると生け花がお出迎え

すべて東観荘のオーナー様がアレンジされるそうです！ロビーには枯山水のお庭を模型にしたテーブルオブジェ♬能の舞台としても使用される一角には和装が展示してあるんです！

細やかなところまで気をつくしたおもてなしですね。

The private dining room was located on the second floor and featured western table/chairs as well as an adjoining room for the maiko dance. The dinner menu included some traditional auspicious symbols to celebrate the occasion. For example, there were dishes in the shape of a crane and turtles, traditional symbols of happiness. There was also a container with a lid in the shape of a frog. The idea is that both parts (bride and groom) must work and match to make a whole, a wish for the well-being of the new bridal couple.

そしてお食事をされるお部屋には、帯のトップクロスで飾られたテービルと椅子海外の方は正座が難しいためテーブルと椅子は本当にうれしいですね♬八寸といわれる前菜には、お祝いの意味を込めた材料や器が使用されていました。例えば。。。鶴、亀の器→福寿、長寿蛤→蛤は同じ対の貝しか重なり合うことができないことから、家内安全や末長いご夫婦の縁を願う意味を込められています。お料理の材料にしたり器としても使用されることがあります。

The meal also featuring something everyone had been awaiting -- the arrival of the maiko. Two maiko from the Miyagawa district joined us that evening, Satono and Marufuku. Maiko are geisha in training from the ages of 15-20. Here they are performing one of two dances.
そして、お食事会のなかでもお二人が大変楽しみにされていたのが、舞子さんによる祝舞をご披露♬

Of course, during the meal we took a lot of photos with the maiko and enjoyed their conversation. Peter and Amy had a lot of questions, and we did our best to translate the conversation. It was the perfect way to end a special day: a beautiful full course kaiseki dinner and the company of maiko.

It was a pleasure meeting Peter and Amy and helping them organize their wedding in Kyoto. We wish them all the best and hope to see them again in Kyoto in the future!

もちろん、祝舞の後にはご一緒に撮影をされたりお話をされたりとゆっくり堪能して頂きました♬京料理も大変満足と完食！本当にすてきなお二人に出会えてご担当させていただき光栄でした！Amy様Peter様　お二人とご家族の末永いご多幸を願っております♬また、京都へお越し下さいませ！

The Wedding Ceremony

After moving from our offices to Okazaki shrine, the bride and groom prepare in the waiting room. Here they receive final instructions on what happens during the ceremony, through an interpreter. It's an exciting time but a good chance for Peter and Amy to catch their breaths before the ceremony.

Kyoto Weddingsのお支度場所から岡崎神社へ移動されたAmy様とPeter様はまずお控え室にて挙式のご説明をうけられました。もちろん！Kyoto Weddingsのスタッフがアテンドと通訳をさせて頂くので日本語がわからないいお二人も安心して説明をうけられました。

Here Peter and Amy share an intimate moment before the main event. The waiting is also decorated with some Japanese antiques, making for another photo chapter to add to the day. When the time came, we left in a slow procession toward the main hall, lead by the shrine attendants and priest, followed by the bridal couple and family members. The cherry blossoms in full bloom greeted us along the way.

自然に手をつながれているお二人本当にお互いを大切にされているなと感じました！お控え室も純和風とアンティーク感がマッチした落ち着いた場所なのでお写真撮影にもよかったんですよ！そして挙式スタートまずは、巫女を先頭に新郎新婦様、親族の方が整列し挙式をおこなうご本殿までゆっくり進んでゆく参進の議満開の桜が祝福しているみたいでしょ！

On-lookers at the shrine were heard shouting, "Omedeto!" (congratulations!). The ceremony itself lasted about 30 minutes and the Kyoto Weddings staff were there to translate everything to make sure everyone was comfortable. The ceremony involves a purification rite by the priest, a ritual exchanging of sake, and a proclamation of marriage vows. When everything finished, it was time for photos in front of the shrine.

岡崎神社の参拝客も”おめでとう”と祝福の声をくださいました！挙式は、約３０分もちろんKyotoWeddingsのスタッフがぴったりアテンド＆通訳をさせて頂くのでお二人も安心して挙式をうけられました！挙式後はゆっくり撮影Time!!!

Ringing the shrine bell and making a wish. 鐘をならして♬参拝♬

 In front of the blooming cherry blossoms. 満開の桜の前にて

Together with Kyoto Weddings staff. スタッフとともに♬

The Japanese Bridal Car

After the kimono dressing was finished, the bride and groom moved to the shrine via a special bridal car. But this bridal is very different than western limousines. There are three special features:
1. There is a Chinese character for happiness painted on the car
2. Besides the doors, the roof of the backseats also open to make room for the Japanese bride's kimono and hood
3. To help the bride, there are reins on the back of the front seats for her to balance herself with

Wearing a white shiromuku kimono makes it very difficult to move. The reason why is because your body is basically wrapped in a thick comforter. And if the bride wears the traditional wig and kimono hood, that's another 20cm added to her height. So these are the reasons why the Japanese bridal car was invented!

Kyoto Weddingsが４月の挙式をご紹介します。さてさてお支度が完成したら新郎新婦様はブライダルタクシーにて岡崎神社まで移動です。ここでひとつ豆知識のご紹介！ブライダルカーってご存知ですか？名前の通りで婚礼仕様のタクシーなんです。なにが婚礼仕様かというと
①寿の文字がタクシーに書かれています。
②タクシーの天井がオープンカーのように開くんです！
③花嫁様が座りやすいように紅白の手綱がついています！

白無垢や打掛にかつらを身につけた花嫁様は大変動きにくくなります。なぜならば帯や着物を着用すると体にお布団を一枚ぐるりと巻き付けている大きさになるんです。しかも、かつらや綿帽子をかぶることにより頭からより１５㎝から２０㎝くらいは高さがでるんですね！なのでタクシーの乗り降りや移動中も座りやすい工夫が施されているんですねぇ！

Looks very elegant, doesn't it? Furthermore, to ensure safety, only experienced drivers can operate bridal cars. When the bridal car pulls up at the shrine, there is a certain excitement that the wedding is about to start.

かっこいいんですよ！しかも、このタクシーの運転手は、無事故無違反で技術的にも認められたベテランドライバーでないと運転できないんです。すごいでしょ！私は、このブライダルカーが到着すると’結婚式’が始まる！！ってワクワクするんです！

Wedding day! Getting Dressed

Friday, April 8th
This date is referred to as "tomobiki"on the Japanese calendar, auspicious for making connections and friends, so it's been a popular date for weddings. With cherry blossoms in bloom and the weather warm, the stage was set for Peter and Amy's wedding!

After arranging for a taxi to pick them up at their hotel, we went right into kimono dressing. Although I'm sure they were nervous, they were all smiles.

４月８日（金）友引
友引とは、日本では縁起の良いことが友にも引き付けるという
意味で祝い事には人気のあるお日にちなんですよ！！！
天候はあいにくの曇りですが、桜が満開で温かい日になりました！

本日は、大切なお客様Amy＆Peter様の神前式がとりおこなわれました

タクシーでホテルまでお迎えにあがり、早速お支度開始！
お二人は緊張されているかとおもいきや。。。
笑顔　笑顔　笑顔
楽しんでおられました！

Peter in black montsuki-hakama. Suits him very well, don't you think?
Peter様は、凛々しく黒の紋付袴

Amy being dressed in her white shiromuku kimono with a multi-layered collar and floral design. The kimono was processed to have a glitter to the surface. She looked fabulous. There were two stylists who helped dress Amy and do her make-up and hair. These attendants escorted her throughout the entire ceremony to make sure her kimono looked just right. 
   

Amy様は襟元に八重重ねと花結びの房があしらわれ、着物には虹色の輝く加工が施されている、美しさとかわいらしさが入った品のある華やかさが特徴的な白無垢をお選びになりました。こうしてお支度は順調に進みました！

Cherry Blossom Diary: the Philosopher's Path

This week as well was day out cherry blossom viewing. The destination was the Philosopher's Path in eastern Kyoto, a place I make a point of going to each year. When the wind blows, you are blanketed with cherry blossom petals.

４月１３日（水）快晴

今週も先週に引き続きお花見に出かけました♬毎年この時期に必ず行くのが”哲学の道”
なぜこの時期かといいますと。。。風が吹くとたくさんの桜の花びらが舞うんです♬
はんなりするです♬

If you look closely, you'll see the stream completely covered with flower petals.  It looks like a "sakura no jutan" or "rug of cherry blossoms". Even if you go at 9am, you'll find it's still busy with tourists. We also found this cherry blossom (hazakura)! What a gentle yet strong shape.

わかりますかね？花びらが舞って、川の水面に桜の花びらがたくさん流れてるんです♬
まるで”桜の絨毯”みたいです。朝の９時くらいに行くとこんな感じで観光客はまだまだらなんですよ♬こんな葉桜も見つけました！優しさと可愛らしさと強さを感じる桜でしょ♬

Finally, in the evening we visited Maruyama park to see the famous weeping cherry blossom tree. This is the second generation of the tree, with the first one living some 220 years. A Meiji period writer once wrote, "Tonight everyone I meet are beautiful" in order of this tree. Even though it was 10 at night, the park was full of people.

そして、夜は円山公園の枝垂桜やっぱり美しい♬今の桜は二台目で一代目は樹齢２２０年だったそうです！この桜は”一重白彼岸枝垂桜”（ひとえしろひがんざくら）という品種
”今宵逢う人皆美しき。。。”と明治時代の歌人に詠まれるほど祇園の夜桜は妖艶なんです♬
２２時くらいだったのですが、まだまだたくさんの観光客がいらっしゃいました。

We'll be sure to introduce cherry blossoms next year. Don't miss the chance to visit Kyoto in the spring. At Kyoto Weddings, we can help you arrange photo sessions in kimono at these fabulous locations. Please contact us.

また来年も京都の桜をご紹介しますね♬是非、春の京都へお越し下さい。KyotoWeddingsでは、こんな奇麗なロケーションで撮影させて頂きます。是非お問い合わせください。

Cherry Blossom Diary: Tenryu-ji temple, Ninan-ji temple, Hirano Shrine

Tenryu-ji temple is a Rinzai Zen temple located in Saga-Arashiyama, past the Togetsukyo bridge. To  the west is Kameyama park which once belonged to the temple. Beside the main hall, the cherry blossoms were beautiful!


天龍寺は嵯峨嵐山にある臨済宗のお寺名勝嵐山や渡月橋、天龍寺の西側に広がる亀山公園などもかつては境内地だったそうなんです！多宝殿の横に咲いていた桜

After Tenryu-ji temple, we took the randen train to Ninan-ji temple. The temple is also famous for its cherry blossoms, but unfortunately they were not in bloom yet. But also found this cute variety. 
そして嵐電にて揺られながら仁和寺へ。仁和寺は室御桜が有名なんですが。。。まだ蕾でした。。。しかし、境内にはこんなかわいい桜が

From Ninan-ji temple, we took the bus for about 15 minutes to Hirano shrine. There were dozens of food stalls set up for visitors, and it was paradise to look at the flowers while sipping wine. 
今度は市バスに乗って約１５分くらいのところにある平野神社出店やお茶屋さんが軒を連ねているんですよ♬熱燗をいただきながらゆっくりお花見酒なんて最高♬

The cherry blossoms this year are again magical in Kyoto. 
京都の春は今年も咲き誇ってます♬

4月４日 お打ち合わせ♬

Kimono Fitting with Peter and Amy


Today Peter and Amy came to our offices for their kimono fitting. Although we've been emailing back and forth, this was the first time that we have met. I was a bit nervous but I was very happy to meet the lovely Amy and Peter, who stands at a rather tall 195cm! They were both very patient and kind, so everything went very smoothly. 


Choosing Kimono:
Within our building is our partnered kimono boutique. This makes it possible to directly choose kimono after a consultation in our bridal salon. Peter and Amy were really taken by the gorgeous uchikake (bridal over coat kimono) and hiki-furisode (long sleeved) kimono that decorate our offices. 


Guests are welcome to photograph the fitting process, so there was a lot shutter clicking going on. After some explanation about kimono, Peter and Amy began to look at their kimono. Peter was surprised his crested montsuki-hakama (male bridal kimono) fit so well considering his size. (In most cases we are able to provide specially sized kimono.) 


Amy had the freedom to choose from three white shiromuku kimono of different patterning, design and colour. She choose a kimono with a multilayered collar with floral designs, and the kimono was processed to have glitter to the surface. It was a beautiful traditional shiromuku. 


The kimono looked great on both of them and we were so excited to see them on the wedding day. 


Schedule confirmation
Next, we went over the schedule for the wedding day, from the morning taxi pick up to the dinner in the evening at Tokan-so, a traditional ryotei (gourmet) restaurant. The schedule was broken down by times so they knew exactly what would happen. 


Hair/Make-up Rehearsal 
After the meeting, it was time for Amy's make up rehearsal. Because it takes so much time to put down the bridal kimono, there really isn't time on the wedding day to decide hairstyles and make up. This all needs to decided beforehand. The stylist will then recreate the look on the wedding day. The professional stylists can work with almost any hair length or texture. Amy went with a cute look with braided extensions. Lovely! 


Once everything was finalized, it was the end of the dress fitting. Since they were on vacation as well in Kyoto, we wanted to keep the time as short as possible. The kimono fitting, schedule confirmation and make up rehearsal was all done within 2 hours!


With all the details decided, there is just the wedding day to look forward to! 




4月4日（月）　晴れ

今日は,4月8日挙式　Peter様とAmy様が
お打ち合わせとご衣装選びにお越しくださいました！

メールでは何度もお話やお打ち合わせをさせて頂きましたが、

お二人とKyotoWeddingsのスタッフがお顔を合わせるのは本日が始めて！

【DokiDoki初来店】 

緊張しながらお待ちしていると、
目が大きくて目鼻立ちがはっきりされた大変美しいAmy様と

195センチの長身にダンディなお顔のとても素敵なPeter様が
ご来店くださいました！

お二人とも、笑顔が素敵でやさしい方だったのですぐに仲良くなり
楽しくお打ち合わせをさせて頂きました♬

【ご衣装選び＆ご試着】

まずは、お二人の衣装選びから始めました。

KyotoWeddingsのビル内には、
京都で長年経営されている衣装ショップがあります。
だから、打ち合わせのサロンからの移動なしで衣装選びが可能！！

衣装選びのお部屋には、
打掛や振袖が飾られているのでお二人は大変喜ばれてました。

お衣装選び中もお写真撮影OKなので、
お写真が大好きなお二人はご試着中も撮影大会でした♬

ご衣装選びはスムーズに進み、
和装に関する説明を行いながらの楽しいご衣裳選びとなりました。

Peter様は大変背が高いため特注サイズの紋付をご用意！

Amy様は、数種類の白無垢の中から
襟元に八重重ねと花結びの房があしらわれ、

着物には虹色の輝く加工が施されている、
美しさとかわいらしさが入った品のある華やかさが特徴的な白無垢をお選びになりました。 

お二人とも和装が大変お似合いになり当日が本当に楽しみです。

【挙式当日の詳細確認】
衣装選びの後は、当日スケジュールの確認です。

当日の朝のお迎え時間の確認からお食事会終了までの手配内容や時間確認など

詳細までスケジュールリストを使って確認しながら進めさせて頂きました。

【新婦様のメイクリハーサル】
お打ち合わせ後は、Amy様のリハーサルメイク！！

挙式当日は、お支度時間が限られているため、ファンデーションや口紅やアイシャドウなどメイクアップの細かい色や濃さなどを決めながら、

本番と同じようにメイクを行います。
もちろん、メイクアップコーディネーターは、当日の担当者が行うので安心ですよ！

さすがAmy様目鼻立ちがはっきりされているので本当に美しい！

ますます本番が楽しみです！

これで、お打ち合わせは終了！！

お二人は、京都の旅行中での挙式のためご準備は本日のみ！

しかも、全ての打ち合わせは同じビル内で出来るので、簡単・安心・楽！！！

なんと、こんなに内容は充実しているのに
今日のお打ち合わせの所要時間はたったの約2時間！！！

お打ち合わせ後からでも観光が可能！
観光気分でお越し下さい！
もちろんお二人もお打ち合わせ後は観光へお出かけになられました！

これで準備はOK！桜も見ごろだし、本当に楽しみです！

初めまして♬Kyoto WeddingsのWeddingPlanner Sachikoです♬

Hi everyone, my name is Sachiko Nakamura and I'm a wedding planner in Kyoto. I'll be writing this blog about Kyoto and weddings, so come back to read more about bridal ceremonies and kimono in Japan!

はじめましてKyotoWeddingsのWeddingplanner 中村佐知子です。
本日から「結婚式」や「京都」の楽しい情報をBlogに綴っていきます。
どうぞ宜しくお願いします！

Wedding Planner
sachiko nakamura

Kyoto Weddings　
http://www.kmfa-kyoto.com/