Weddings in Japan

One of the true joys of living in Japan is how easy it is to get together with friends and venture into Tokyo on the weekends. There is so much to do and see, and the train system makes it all incredibly simple. However, one of the great encounters is coming across a wedding at one of the shrines or seeing a wedding photographer with a young couple at a traditional Japanese garden.

As a photographer, this presents a unique opportunity. With a polite smile and a bow, it is relatively easy to be accepted and capture some of this beauty with your camera.  However, there are some polite customs one must follow. A smile must first go to the bride because it is her day. Secondly, and almost equally important, a smile must also go to the official photographer because it is his duty to document the occasion. With this polite interchange, you can be accepted as long as you do not actively interfere with the proceedings. There were several times when I was actually allowed to privately engage the bride and groom and photograph them.

The collection in this article contain some of my best experiences as a guest “wedding photographer” in Japan. It was always a great joy seeing these young couples embarking on their lives together. Oh, I actually became Facebook friends with a couple of the brides!

Japan Related: Pictured below is a couple from an April trip to Washington D.C, in front of the FDR Memorial celebrating the blooming of the Sakura along the Potomac.

It is my hope that these images somehow documented my love for the beauty of Japan and its people. Having lived in various parts of the country for about 12 years, I feel my mission is to somehow convey to the world how beautiful and welcoming Japan is to all the Gaijin who consider visiting this Land of the Rising Sun.