Weddings!

So this happened. Good luck, you crazy kids.

Unlike a lot you out there, I didn't watch the Royal Wedding in its entirety. I don't have cable and even if I did, I like sleeping too much. I did see a teeny tiny short clip of the vows on the internet (Archbishops are so serious) and another clip of Wills and Kate kissing on the balcony, but that's it. Oh and some pictures of guests wearing cracked out hats, but I swear, that was it. I managed to avoid the royal wedding fever for the most part.

All of the English regalness and pomp got me thinking, how do they do this sort of thing in Japan? Let's take a look!

Crown Prince Akihito and his bride Princess Michiko in 1959:

With the groom's parents Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kojun in Western style wedding celebration wear:

And here are pictures of their son, Crown Prince Naruhito and his bride Princess Masako in 1993 (history repeating itself):

With the now Emperor and Empress:

As you can see, Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako handled the media coverage just a little differently than Wills and Kate did (with 1990s computer simulation!):

I decided I'd learn a little more on Japanese marriage in general. Here's what I gleaned (from Wikipedia (not entirely trusty I know) and some random weddings around the world websites:

There are two types of marriages in Japan:

1. Renai: a love match (which pretty much everyone does now)

2. miai: an arranged marriage (the old school way, ala The Makioka Sisters)

For a traditional Japanese wedding, there are 2 types of bridal head covers. You can either go with a wataboshi (a white hood) or a tsunokakushi (a cloth that goes around your hair). Some say that tsunokakushis are worn to cover a bride's horns of jealousy.

You don't have to be in a ceremony to be officially married in Japan. Just fill out some paperwork and submit it to city hall and you're set.

If you're going to a wedding and you're giving the bride and groom money, make sure to put it in a fancy envelope called a shugi bukuro.

And lastly, I hope you're not a lady who was born during the fifth cycle of the year of the horse (1966). You're bad luck and no one wants to marry you. Heads up procreaters: don't have a baby girl in 2026. She too will grow up to be an unlucky spinster.