Our Wedding Day

Here's a high-level overview of our Wedding Day on March 31st 2024! You will receive a detailed overview on the day of the Wedding. There's plenty of staff to help guide you on the day - so no worries, you won't accidentally miss anything ;) 

  1. Arrival: by 12:20pm at the latest at Osaka Tenmangu Shrine! If you wear a Kimono and have arranged one via Chiiya, you should already arrive around 11am, so the staff at Tenmangu can help you wear it properly and get you ready.
    Independent if you're wearing Kimono or not, there are facilities available to you to get ready. So you can arrive at the temple in "streetwear" and then get changed and ready if you prefer.

  2. Gathering and Transition to Inner Sanctum: until around 1:20pm. You will have some time to enjoy the shrine grounds, enjoy a beverage, the Japanese garden, look at the bride and groom photo shoot, and will need to gather sometime around 1:10pm to prepare going into the inner sanctum. You will need to queue up behind the groom and bride (depending to which side you "belong" to) and we will then jointly walk to the sanctum. Keep in mind that you will need to take your shoes off: There will be specific shoe lockers before we get into the inner sanctum where you can safely store your footwear.

  3. Start of Ceremony: 1:30pm in the Inner Sanctum. The traditional Shinto wedding ceremony starts at 1:30pm and will take about 30 minutes. Please keep in mind that the Inner Sanctum is not open to the public and sacred ground for Shinto believers. Behave and act accordingly. To give you a better idea of how the ceremony will proceed specifically, we've included a detailed step-by-step overview below (currently only available in German). On the day of the wedding, you will receive material that includes the same description, then also in English.

  4. Proclamation / Transfer to Reception: around 2:00pm/ 2:10pm-ish until 2:45pm. The proclamation in the heart of the Shrine is exclusively for bride and groom and the parents. Shrine staff will lead you to the room of our Wedding reception. You will have a bit of free time so to speak: You can already enjoy some time in the room and order some beverages, you could go out in the inner courtyard to witness the proclamation (only takes about 5 minutes), etc.

  5. Start of Wedding Reception: 2:45pm. The reception will start at 2:45pm and will include drinks, food, and entertainment.

  6. End of Wedding Reception: ~5:15pm. The reception will end around 5:15pm. If you wear Kimono or brought your street clothes and changed at the Shrine, you will have the time to change back to your original clothes past 5:15pm.

Since all Japanese need to work the next day, and since many guests travelled thousands of kilometres to join us for the wedding and also explore Japan, we decided against having an afterparty with drinks and music until well past midnight. We thought this might be nicer for all guests, so everyone can actually see and enjoy more of what Japan has to offer instead of spending one (or two...) days hung over ;)

For all the lovely people who can't wait - here's the more detailed description of the Ceremony (currently only available in German):


Der Ablauf der Hochzeitszeremonie 

Die gesamte Hochzeitszeremonie im Innern des Schreins wird ca. 30 Minuten dauern. Dort werden Priester u.a. folgende Anweisungen geben. Im Zweifel das tun, was die japanischen Gäste machen: 

  • お立ちください Otachi-kudasai = Bitte aufstehen 

  • お座りください Osuwari-kudasai = Bitte hinsetzen 

  • ご低頭ください Gotei-tou-kudasai = Bitte verbeugen 

 

1.修祓 (Shubatsu): Läuterung 
Zuerst wird der Priester eine rituelle Läuterung nach schintoistischem Brauch durchführen. 

2.祝詞奏上 (Norito Soujyo): Gebet zur Bekanntgabe der Hochzeit 
Es folgt ein Gebet, das den Kami (Göttern) die Hochzeit bekanntgibt. 

3.夫婦固めの盃 (Fufu Katame No Sakazuki): Zeremonie der Bindung 
Dieses schintoistische Hochzeitsritual (san-san-kudo genannt) beinhaltet das dreimalige Trinken aus drei unterschiedlichen Sakeschalen durch Braut und Bräutigam. Drei ist eine bedeutende Zahl, da sich diese nicht durch Zwei teilen lässt. Man sagt zudem, dass die drei Schalen für Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft stehen. Das Ritual symbolisiert die Stärkung der Bindung des Brautpaares. 

4.誓詞奉読（Seishi Houdoku): Ehegelübde 
Das gemeinsam unterschriebene Ehegelübde wird durch den Bräutigam vorgelesen. 

5. 玉串奉奠 拝礼 (Tamagushi Houten Hairei): Tamagushi Widmung und Verbeugung 
Dem Brautpaar wird ein Tamagushi (Zweig des heiligen Sakaki-Baumes) gereicht. Dieser Zweig wird mit den Wünschen des Brautpaares den Göttern gewidmet. Daraufhin wird der Priester HAIREI sagen. Es wird sich daraufhin zweimal verbeugt, zweimal geklatscht, und dann ein letztes Mal verbeugt. 

6.神楽奉納（Kagura Hounou): Weihung durch Priesterin 
Es gibt eine Kagura-Weihung (heiliger Tanz und Musik) durch eine Priesterin. 

7.親子固めの盃（Oyako Katame No Sakazuki): Zeremonie der Bindung der Familien 
Durch die Hochzeit werden die Eltern des Partners zu den eigenen Eltern. Daher tauschen die Elternpaare gegenseitig Sakeschalen aus und trinken. Dies symbolisiert die Stärkung der Bindung der Familien. 

8.神酒拝戴（Shinsyu Haitai): Zeremonie der Bindung mit allen Hochzeitsgästen 
Es werden alle Hochzeitsgäste gebeten, gemeinsam zu trinken. Möchtet ihr keinen Alkohol trinken, reicht es aus, wenn ihr den Becher nur an den Lippen ansetzt und so tut, als würdet ihr trinken. Falls ihr trinken solltet, trinkt in einem Schluck, ohne abzusetzen. 


Nach der Zeremonie im Innern wird zum ca. 5-minütigen Gottesdienst im Hauptheiligtum geführt. Dorthin dürfen lediglich das Brautpaar und die Eltern des Brautpaares. Die weiteren Gäste werden zurück zum Eingang gebracht und zum Raum, in dem die Feier stattfinden bzw. fortgeführt wird. Ihr könnt alternativ auch vom Innenhof den Gottesdienst beobachten. 

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