FRI
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JUN

A Tokyo Wedding to Remember!

Last year I had the amazing opportunity and privilege to photograph Jun & Yuki’s wedding in Tokyo, Japan. Jun and Yuki are a beautiful couple, loved by many, with their guests travelling to Japan from far too many countries to list.  They are an active couple, both playing ice hockey and surfing.  Jun, the groom, speaks about 3 or 4 languages, fluently, and at the reception he translated each of the speeches in Japanese, English and French (I think. It might have been Dutch rather than French, though.). Yuki, the bride, spent a few years working in New York City, so she was able to communicate with me in English well enough that I’m fairly certain we were understanding each other!

Jun and Yuki opted for a westernized style wedding and exchanged their vows in a beautiful catholic church. The restrictions for photographers are very strict during Japanese Catholic Services, if you are not the church’s official photographer. A member of the church was assigned to “police” me so that I could not take photographs during the service. Jun told me to pretend like I couldn’t understand and just try to get as many shots as I could. I pretty much took the majority of my service shots from my lap, without looking through the view finder. I had to pretend as if I weren’t taking photos. I did manage to escape my “police officer” for a few minutes, to run to the front and take some shots. There is also the tradition in Japan that it is unlucky for anyone but the bride and groom to step into the center isle of the church. All guests must stay to the side isles. Yuki looked beautiful in a gorgeous formal gown by Provnovios. She wore this for most of the day, and then changed into a second Pronovios evening gown for their 2nd reception.

That’s right, they had two receptions! The first reception took place immediately following the ceremony and was a three course lunch for family and very close friends. The second reception began later in the evening and was more of a big cocktail party for everyone. It included live jazz music, a special reunion performance by Jun’s friend’s band, speeches and slideshows, and loads of hilarious games. Jun & Yuki love surprises so to keep their guests on their toes with surprises throughout the day, including surprise speeches for randomly chosen guests, the groom shaving his head before entering the second party, and a special annoucement at the end of the night. This was certainly a wedding that I will never forget! The experience was like none I’ve had before and the people I met were amazing and full of laughter. Not to mention, so kind and helpful, even when we could only communicate with hand gestures and smiles. Thank you so much, Jun & Yuki, for letting me share in your day. I can’t wait to return to Japan again one day to see you again and meet your new son!


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