Tokyo Diary - Day 5c - The Wedding of Ben and Emeth

Based on the map we received with the wedding invitation, the walk from the train station to the church was quite straight forward and after 10 minutes we had arrived at the correct landmark to make a left turn to find the church.

We looked down one street and didn’t see the church so went up to the next block and sure enough there it was, tucked into a narrow street (these are not alleys in Japan).

The church they were using for the wedding was very nice though it must have cost a fortune to build from what I have heard about Japanese land costs. Instead of having a basement, the fellowship hall, bathrooms, and offices were on the main floor and the sanctuary was on the second floor.

We had arrived early enough that we had over an hour in which to meet and talk to people. Most of the Americans were here as either English teachers or translators.

It was not long and we were being seated. The service was started with a prayer in Japanese and for the most part remained in Japanese.

The wedding itself was beautiful! There were a number of non traditional moments that made it even more special. Instead of flower girls about 20 young children each carried down a small bouquet that they handed the bride (and I believe many of the young girls took a bouquet home after the wedding).

Her father, Pastor Ralph Smith, conducted the wedding. We sang Psalm 15 bilingually - So the English and Japanese mixed (90% Japanese / 10% English) during the song. Pastor Smith then gave a very moving message in which he alternated back and forth from Japanese to English! I lose my train of thought in just English!

Afterwards there were photos. And Photos. And Photos. On the right is a photo showing everyone at the wedding taking pictures of the wedding party using their cell phones and cameras. It was almost like the paparazzi were there. Then everyone who came to the wedding was asked to stand on the platform and a pictures were taken of the entire group. Luckily the photo could be taken from the balcony so that even those in the back could be seen.

At the reception Pastor Smith, Mr. Casbon, Ben, and Emeth each gave a short talk.

The deserts, as can be seen in the photo, were to die for! I really like the idea of the baskets of candy for the kids. They loved it and at the end of the reception each kid was given a bag to fill and bring home.

During the reception I had a wonderful opportunity to talk with a number of the teenagers. I was quite impressed with their maturity and ability to carry on a great conversation.

After eating way too many sweet things, Geoff and I headed back down the road to the train station which would get us to the subway that would take us to the bus stop where we would catch the bus back to the hotel.

To the Wedding <<- Previous || Next ->> Church in Japan