Decoration For Traditional Japanese Wedding

In Japan, a groom wears a haori on the top and a hakama on the bottom, all in black colour. The bride changes into up to five different kimonos throughout the wedding day. Though it isn't required, some Japanese brides wear the traditional wig as part of their wedding attire, that's heavily decorated in artificial flowers, gold combs and pearls. The wedding party also dresses in kimonos, usually in a color have been chosen by the bride.

Traditionally, the bride and groom enter the ceremony from opposite sides of the room, to the strains of the drum and flute. Attendants wave a sacred tree made from paper streamers over the couple's heads for purification. Also for keeping eveil spirits at the bay. After exchanging vows, the couple drinks wine or sake. They trade glasses nine times to symbolize their new bond.

When deciding on lighting for a Japanese-themed wedding, look for paper lanterns-you can even make them or hang them at the reception from tent ceilings or overhead wires. That magic glow will last all night long. Also, think about the miniature fans to use as place settings with wind a personalized strip of paper through the ribs which double as take-home souvenirs. Chopsticks are another festive, practical favour. Whenever your guests know how to use them or not, they'll have fun trying them.

As in so many other areas of Japanese culture these days, Japanese weddings combine traditional Japanese elements with modern Western touches. This is especially common during the reception, where a Western-style wedding cake is often the centrepiece and the cake-cutting ceremony is a popular part.

Japanese wedding cakes are usually multi-tiered large confections created from sponge cakes with buttercream or sugarpaste icing like Western ones. They are generally provided by the reception venue rather than being bought from a specialist baker or decorator. Traditionally they are white with touches of red in their different decoration, since red and white is an auspicious colour combination in Japan.

Sometimes plastic or styrofoam replicas are rented from the reception venue and used for the cake-cutting ceremony instead of real cakes, and the guests are served with slices of sheet cake or individual small cakes in boxes instead of slices of wedding cake.

Although Japanese wedding cakes look very much like Western ones, their flavour is a little different. Like all Japanese desserts, wedding cakes are delicately flavoured and intensely sweet-another example where the Japanese have taken a Western ide

a and made it uniquely their own.