Wedding Blog

For most traditional Western weddings, the bride will wear at most a dress for the wedding itself, which may be a long flowing white wedding dress with veil, followed later at the reception with what is known as a “going away outfit”, in which the bride would embark on her honeymoon with her new husband. However, in Japan, the bride will quite frequently wear a number of outfits throughout the day, including a traditional white Japanese wedding kimono, a white western-style wedding dress, and possibly a number of other more colorful outfits, both western-style and Japanese.

Mariko, a young Japanese woman who got married recently, told me, “To begin with, I did not want to go in for the custom of several different dress changes on the day itself, but then I thought, it is only one day, a unique day, and those photos of me in the different dresses will be something to make that day memorable.”

As it was, Mariko’s family hired a “dresser” to help her to quickly change into each successive outfit, and make any necessary changes to her make-up and hairstyle.

Kelly, an American woman who, while living in Japan married her American partner, Alex, invited a number of Japanese friends to her wedding which took place in Kyoto. A number of the guests asked Kelly if she was going to change dress, which surprised her a little, as, not having lived in Japan for that long, she was less aware of this custom. Her guests may have been equally surprised that she wore only one dress for the whole day.

It seems that this habit of numerous wedding dresses is not a long-standing Japanese custom, but has become more the habit in the post-war booming economy of Japan, as an expression of being well-to-do.

So if, on your big day, you feel some strain at getting all dressed and prepared in that wonderful dress, spare a thought for the Japanese bride who may have to go through this process a number of times.

Filed under: Style and Trends, Dress, Locations, Uncategorized