Recently at the Holiday Inn in Albany, I was the disc jockey for a real fun, high-end, Asian-fusion-themed Sweet Sixteen Party. The party was formal, and also much like an Japanese-American themed Wedding I did recently, so I thought I would throw down some ideas to help others who are thinking about a theme for their special event.
It’s okay to be different. The birthday girl at the party I did was an African-American. If you love sushi and/or Chinese food and have a huge passion for the East, who says that you can’t have an Asian-themed wedding? If you are thinking of changing things up a bit for your wedding, it doesn’t matter if the bride or groom has Oriental roots or not, it really doesn’t matter. America is about diversity. How many theme parties have you been to where the hosts actually fit the mold in their daily lives, anyhow?
Anyhow, it could be difficult and limiting to isolate your event to just Chinese or Japanese culture, since they themselves draw from so many inspirations. The modern Japanese writing system itself uses three main scripts, and one of them, Kanji, is basically made up entirely from Chinese characters/letters. Since here in the west, we often group eastern ideas and cultures together, it may be interesting to have an Asian-Fusion Theme, so you can incorporate all the fun.
WEDDING CEREMONY – For the actually wedding ceremony, there are many different eastern traditions that can easily be researched. One interesting one has the bride and groom entering the room from opposite sides and symbolically walking together. Guests then wave paper streamers over the couple’s heads for purification to keep evil spirits at away. After exchanging vows, the bride and groom each drink a symbolic glass of sake. Finally, they trade glasses nine times to symbolize their new bond.
Formal Wedding Kimonos go for well over $20,000!
BRIDE DRESS- Typically, a bride in Japan wears a white silk kimono that can cost over $20,000, but you can get something much cheaper here in the states, or even have something made. The fun part for the bride in Japan is that she gets to act like Lady Gaga at an award ceremony all night. Normally, the Japanese bride changes into up to five different kimonos throughout the wedding day.
Japanese brides often wear a traditional Japanese wig as part of their regalia. These wigs are very fancy and decorated in golden barrettes, pearls, and beautiful artificial flowers,
GROOM CLOTHING- On the other side of the ying yang, a Japanese groom wears all black. A “haori” on the top and a “hakama” on the bottom are the official terms of the traditional matrimonial garb.
DRESS CODE – The wedding party also dresses in kimonos, usually in a color chosen by the bride. Depending on the atmosphere you are looking for, you may want to encourage fun eastern attire from the guests as well. Warning… be forewarned that Uncle Charlie could probably show up as a ninja.
The reception is where you can really pull in the Asian-Fusion theme. There are so many options with this that there is no excuse if you fall short.
ARRIVAL – Though I will admit I have not seen this, coming in pulled on a hand-pulled rikshaw would kick some major bonsai!
Paper Lantern Decorations will dress up any event!
DECORATIONS – There are so many options. Bonsai Tree centerpieces, Shoji paper lanterns with Japanese script, Chinese paper parasols, Lucky bamboo plants, Fancy sushi trays and dipping dishes, Cherry Blossoms, paper wall room dividers, hanging oil lanterns. Mini Sandy Zen gardens with tiny rakes. Polished river stones can act as paperweights for napkins.
PRINTING – For the invitations, print custom invitations on Japanese Fine artisan papers and make sure to include some Chinese or Japanese letters. You could also print programs on paper fans!
FAVORS – In Japan, a nickel is a beautiful cheap coin that has a hole in it. It is said to be good luck to wear this coin as a charm on a necklace. Therefore, why not give out Good Luck Japanese Nickel Necklaces? Also, every place setting could have a Lucky Red Takeout Box & Japanese Chopsticks, and Origami. You could also go with a keepsake Porcelain Chinese Takeout Box , Longevity Chopsticks in Silk Pouches, or even Personalized Japanese Wood Chopsticks. Also, fortune cookie with pre-printed fortunes, customized by the bride and groom would be a great hit!
DRINKS – Bowls of edamame beans at the bar, Sake, Wasabe Brew, green tea, or mango sodas.
APPETISERS – Sushi, sashimi, a full raw bar spread, dim sum, shrimp tempura, spring rolls, teriyaki or yakimore sticks and noodles dishes.
MAIN COURSE – Don’t even get me started.
No matter what you do, a theme wedding is the way to go. No one will forget! …And do not be afraid to play Carl Douglas’ “Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting” and The Vapors song “I’m Turning Japanese.” You know you want to!
So the ring has been given, now, what next? Is there anything important you need to think of when choosing your actual wedding date? How to choose a wedding date, is difficult and should not be taken lightly.
How to optimize the selection of the actual calendar date for your wedding is easy when you eliminate your competion.
When you are picking a date to throw a big event like a wedding, one should approach things with a good business mind. That means, KNOW YOUR COMPETITION. Like any other important date, be smart about selection. You should act like a real good planner and think of all the reasons your guests may not be able to come on that particular day. Believe it or not, people may not make your most special date their top priority.
You probably can understand that planning a wedding on Superbowl Sunday is probably not the best idea, if you have a lot of sports fans on either side of the family. So when do you plan it?
Choosing the actual day of the week is tough, but it is not the biggest battle. Most people will agree that a Sunday or a Friday is a good idea, but Saturday seems to be even better due to commute issues for your guests either before or after the ceremony and reception. If this is true, then what you really need to focus on is which Saturday on the calendar is best to choose? To figure this out, think about which Saturday will pose the least amount of distrations to the majority of your guests.
STAY AWAY FROM HOLIDAYS – Face it. Aside from your one uncle that farts a lot, and the one cousin who gets extremely drunk even at communion, for the most part, you really want your all of your friends and family to be able to make it. However, there is one mistake that a lot of party planners seem to make… PUTTING THE DATE ON A HOLIDAY, figuring that your guests have the date off anyway.
AVOID CAUSING A BREAK IN YOUR GUEST’S POSSIBLE TRADITIONS – Yes, at first, selecting a holiday as your wedding date seems like a novel idea; getting married on Christmas Eve, or The Fourth of July, perhaps. You probably figure that most people already have that date off, and it is fun to be able to say, “we are getting married and starting our NEW lives together on NEW Years Eve!” …or something to that effect. However, placing your special date on a day where other people may already have plans, or traditions is quite often a really bad thing to do.
For one, it sometimes can make some very important people in your lives have to pick between attending either their yearly plan/tradition, or attending your function. This can upset your guests or even you when you see what their decision is. It is a bad position to put people in on both sides.
I was the DJ for one wedding that actually fell on Halloween. It was also a “no kids allowed” wedding. This meant that some of their guests had to get babysitters and also, could not go trick-or-treating with their children. So what ended up happening? Many guest with younger children left way too early for the success of the wedding reception. When it came time to dance, a large portion of the guest list had left.
AVOID PLACING YOUR DATE ON A FUN DAY – Another reason chosing a fun calendar day for your special day is not a good idea is you may loose some of the fun people who might have attended that are not all that close to you. If they are not your very best friends, but you do want them to attend, it is possible that they may succumb to the temptation of your calendar date’s competition. That can mean less people you haven’t seen in a long time, or even worse, less of a good time overall.
A good example of this might be placing your wedding date on Saint Patrick’s day. While it is not traditionally a day that people may get off of work, it is a day that many other parties and events plan on.
An Irish Wedding theme can be great! However, choosing the actual Saint Patrick’s day date for your wedding will make some of your lesser important guests to have to choose between you, and that nice pint of green beer that is waiting for them down the street at their favorite pub. Again, as a rule of thumb, keep in mind that your most special day is not always going to be THEIR most special day. And you do not want to lose guests that you value simply because you picked one day, when you could have picked another. (For some ideas on Irish theme weddings check out my blog here.)
So think twice before choosing that holiday for your special day. If you create competion for your event by choosing a bad day from the start, you are only setting yourself up for potential heartache.
