The Fourth-Generation Dress, a Handmade Party, and the Bride's Guitar

#WeddingMemories

I thought I'd take the opportunity to join in on this prompt.

It has been 22 years now since we held our wedding ceremony.

The church where we held the ceremony was the Tokyo Cathedral (St. Mary's Cathedral / top image).
It was a large cathedral.

I wore the wedding dress that my mother, aunt, and older sister had worn. This was originally made for my mother, and up until my aunt wore it, it was an A-line dress.

When my sister had her ceremony, it was remodeled with lace into pagoda sleeves (a style that flares out from below the elbow).
For my ceremony, the pagoda sleeves were removed and remodeled into shoulder-only sleeves. I wore gloves that reached above my elbows.

After that, the dress had its hem lengthened, was turned into a bustier style with all sleeves removed for my cousin to wear, and my best friend also made use of it; six people wore it before it finally finished its service.

The veil was also used by generations starting from my mother, and in the end, another cousin used it.

I wonder if there is any other dress that has been worn this many times.

My mother stayed up late at night carefully sewing beads onto the dress to match the pattern. My sister guided the guests, and at the ceremony, my older brother took my hand and walked me down the aisle.

The venue for the party after the ceremony was an inorganic hall located on the church grounds.

Since my husband was still a graduate student and we didn't have much money, it was a simple hall, but wanting to express as much gratitude as possible, we thought of a handmade party.

Instead of a welcome board, we had welcome dolls, which were dolls my husband and I made out of paper clay and painted ourselves.

The master of ceremonies was my husband's friend, and I entered to the sound of my friend playing the flute.
There were greetings from my husband's mentor, and performances and acts by our respective friends.

My husband's friend practiced playing the piano and singing for this day with all his might, and that awkwardness was, in its own way, wonderful.

My sister-in-law, who has a husky voice and is a good singer, sang "LOVE LOVE LOVE" with my husband accompanying her.

At the end, with me accompanying on the guitar, my husband and I sang one phrase each, alternating. It was my first and last experience singing while playing.

When I held the guitar in my wedding dress, everyone thought it was interesting and came over to take pictures.

The song we sang was Masashi Sada's "Amayadori" (Sheltering from the Rain).

It comically depicts a man and woman who meet by chance while sheltering from the rain, reunite later at a New Year's shrine visit, and continue dating until the proposal.

By the way, at our engagement ceremony, my husband sang "Kanpaku Sengen" (The Declaration of the Head of the Household).

Even though both are comical songs, I saw people everywhere holding back tears, which made me realize just how amazing Masashi Sada is.

Although it was May, the first typhoon of the year arrived that day, resulting in a ceremony and party held in heavy rain.

I felt terrible for everyone who came, but I was truly grateful that they did.

Many people comforted me by saying, "Rain makes the ground firm!"

I wonder if it did firm up? Our ground, that is.

"We want to build a home filled with music and smiles."

That is what I wrote in the pamphlet we handed out at the ceremony.

People told me, "It was a warm ceremony." While handmade things can be a form of self-satisfaction, I wonder if I was able to convey the depth of my feelings.

Twenty-two years. We've been through a lot, haven't we?
I'd like to celebrate our wedding anniversary properly someday.

Oh, I just remembered one thing!

We printed our wedding invitations and the day's pamphlet using a "Print Gocco" (Riso Kagaku Corporation/discontinued in 2008) that was at my parents' house, but we went to Sekaido in Shinjuku to buy the paper and ink.

And then, there he was.
Nori-san, Noritake Kinashi, was there buying art supplies. When I whispered, "Oh, it's Nori-san," he smiled and looked over at me.
I thought to myself, he really is someone who paints... Ever since then, every time I see him on TV, I remember him seriously looking for art supplies.