Japanese Theme?

Weddings these days revolve around a certain theme that the couple has chosen. Ours may be a full year and a half from now, but this early I'm already trying to narrow down our choices for a theme. The earlier we could plan for the wedding, the better, right?

There are some things that are common between me and Mr. M.  We both love dogs although ironically, neither of us own one now.   Definitely, I wouldn't want a pack of dogs or puppies running around in our church or in our reception area --- that will be too chaotic.  I can probably have two dogs as cake toppers, or have my flower girls carry dog stuffed toys, but the latter is going to be an additional cost for my Sweetie, so I won't go for that.  We'd like to stay within our budget, so I hope we could come up with something that wouldn't be hurting our pockets.

We're both techies, and according to our families, we're both internet junkies and school nerdies.  But I can't come up with ways on how to translate that into little things I can incorporate in our wedding.  Except for the laptop and a mouse which we can use as icons or be included as part of our monograms, my list of things related to this theme end there.  And yes, I'm a teacher, but I find it corny to use a report card as the inspiration for our invitation (I've seen this executed very well in other weddings, though).  And the last things I want to see on my wedding day are things that will just remind me of work (such as report cards, lesson plans, blackboards which other brides use as inspirations), no matter how much I love it.

Then I remembered something:  we both love Japanese food!  So maybe if our budget could accomodate it, I might suggest to Sweetie if we could have sushi, sashimi, rice bowls, onigiri or any other Japanese food served during the reception.  But wait.  I got excited for this.  Our similarites do not end there.  Mr. M took up Nihongo as his elective during college, loves watching anime, and speaks a little of that language.  As for me, I love eating in Japanese restaurants and I do teach Japanese language and culture!  Voila!  A theme was born.

I found these pics on my hard drive as I searched for Japanese objects and inspirations in case we end up with a Japanese-themed wedding come 2012:

Tea ceremony items

Ideas:

1. Instead of wine for the toast, use Japanese ocha (tea).  It's a green tea powder (see green bottle with green lid in the picture below).  A bottle like the one in the picture may suffice for 200 pax already since a cup just needs two to three tiny teaspoons (see the tiny Japanese teaspoon placed on the white and green table napkins used in the picture below).
2. Use Japanese ceramics as cups for the tea.
3. Buy mochi (Japanese sweets) which go well with the tea.
4. Use the cherry blossom graphics and incorporate it in the invitation / set design (see 7th picture from the first).      

 

Food

Ideas:

1. Collaborate with the caterer to serve Japanese food.  I could suggest to our future caterer to serve something Japanese-inspired for the cocktails, like the bacon-wrapped green veggies in the pic below.  Then maybe because that's already heavy for starters, we'll just skip the appetizer, soup and salad and just have the main course and desert.
2. Reduce the main courses by having rice bowls served (for example, gyuniku rice bowl or tonkatsu rice bowl).  At least, even if not all the food served are Japanese-inspired, the rice bowl is.

Food pics courtesy of our dates @ Teriyaki Boy

Tanabata

Ideas:

1. Display this "wishing tree" near the couple's table, or at the entrance to the reception area.  Prepare pieces of paper for guests to write their messages to the couple.

 

Yukata, Obi and Geta

Ideas:

1. Use Japanese silk (?) or Japanese organza (?) for my wedding gown (Sorry, I know nothing about textiles.).  Well, I've got to consult the designer regarding this.  I don't want a very elaborate gown, but I do want a nice ribbon for my back  :-)
2. Ask the designer to make me an awesome obi sash for my wedding gown.  This is something I really, really want.  If I can't get the obi sash, then I'd like some flowers on my back.
3. Have my entourage (bridesmaids, secondary sponsors and flower girls) wear yukata-inspired gowns.
4. Wear a yukata as my make up artist is beautifying me.  Or better yet, together with my groom, change into a yukata for the reception (I wonder if Mr. M would agree!).
5. Incorporate Japanese fabrics (fabric and cherry blossom/floral designs) in the table cloths, napkins, etc.
6. Wear a geta (Japanese slippers) for the reception (Nice idea to give my feet some rest).

Pics courtesy of my Nihongo classes

Origami

Ideas:

1. Fold hearts and cranes and place them on the tables as decors.  I can also hang multiple cranes on the ceiling.
2. Display origamis on the Japanese-inspired wishing tree.

Image Source for the Cranes:  Wikipedia

Cranes, when put together as a one thousand single-strand decor, are traditionally given as a wedding gift by the folder, who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the couple.

Japanese Lanterns

Ideas:

1. Buy Japanese lanterns and use them as decors for the ceiling.

Kanji and Katakana

Ideas:

1. Use kanji characters (for example, for security, happiness, love) instead of table numbers.
2. Inscribe our names in Katakana in our invitations, thank you cards, save the date cards, etc.

Japanese kimono

Ideas:

1. Wear a wedding kimono for prenup (hahaha -- this is outrageous!  Where would I get one?).
2. Incorporate the color black, which is a color associated with Japanese weddings.

 Image Credits for these two pics:  Japaneselifestyle.com

I got excited just making this list.  I'm okay with the Japanese theme, but I have to check with Mr. M whether or not he agrees with me (I'm not too sure whether he'll find this gimmicky or not).  Or I'll explore other theme options and suggestions that also suit us.

Any other ideas?

:-)