Kekkon Hiroen - the Reception

Typically, friends and relatives are invited to the reception, but they chose to keep it simple, since receptions are pretty expensive. Exchanging gifts is pervasive in Japanese culture, and with weddings, guests typically give the equivalent of $200US or more as a gift. Norv's friend, Kanji-san, told us that he declines wedding invitations because the expense to a guest can add up, expecially if there are multiple weddings in a year. The days following the wedding, Greg and Fumiko-san attended several dinners hosted by her friends, ranging from kaiseki meals, Japanese fusion and French cuisine. Greg mentioned that this is a newer trend and unbelievably, her friends hosted the dinners and still gave them gifts!

Note to the family and friends: there will be a reception in the Fall, depending on Fumiko-san's arrival.

Additionally, Kekkon Hiroen guests receive a substantial gift from the couple, not the truffles, trinkets and sometimes ,junk, that we're used to. We all received beautifully crafted nested boxes from Greg and Fumiko-san.

The reception was another nice bonding opportunity for the families. A quick toast in Eigo-ga (English) from Kazuo-san, Fumiko-san's brother-in-law, who rehearsed his toast for weeks in front of his colleagues. We quickly moved to dinner, which was a mix of both Japanese and French cuisine. Celebration meals serve Tai, as a play on words for "mede-tai" (happiness, auspiciousness) or"o medetai" (I wish to congratulate you) . We dined on "tai no sashimi" once again, but since it's a new favorite we didn't mind meal re-runs.



No dancing the Macarena or Chicken dance with a cheesy DJ, no bouquet or garter toss -- thank God and the Kami for that -- just another good dinner, more time for family bonding and origami creations from the kid. A quick note about Fumiko-san's nieces and nephew: best behaved kids ever! Ryota-chan, the baby, cried only ONCE all day and that wasn't until the end of the evening.