American dress for a Shinto wedding?

My fiance and I are American, and we have been thinking about the idea of getting married in Japan on and off for awhile now. I would love to have a shinto wedding, but I know they cost a fortune.

Some one posted on this site about having a ceremony for only $1,000 (not including the dressing etc.) I was wondering if it would be possible to have a Shinto ceremony wearing American wedding attire.

Would that be considered disrespectful in anyway, or just strange? I actually already have a wedding dress, but things were getting too complicated with the planning in America- so we just want to elope with a few close friends and family.

Any ideas on if a Shinto ceremony has been done in American clothing? Thanks!

you pay for the ceremony, perhaps you can dress like you want, especially in America.

I have never seen/ heard of that kind of wedding ceremony. You would have to consult with the priests at the shrine to see if it was acceptable- my guess is that they would be opposed though, as it takes away from the tradition.

It's a bit like wanting to get married in a church wearing full kimono, hairdo and white make-up- that would also be a bit odd, wouldn't it.

its not about dressing, its about how and what you feel about the thing.

The most important thing would be permission from the people at the shrine. If they say yes, then why not? I don't recommend just turning up with the dress as that could be a bit insensitive- check with them first.

If you wish to have a Shinto wedding then in my opinion follow the Japanese Shinto tradition of wearing traditional items at least for the bride and groom.

It's like how someone mentioned, how extremely strange it would be for a Japanese person to have a Western style wedding (even if they aren't Christian) but wear a traditional kimono vs a wedding dress for the ceremony.

Japanese sometimes have Shinto Style wedding, then switch to more comfortable items for the afterparty.

Thinking about it, wedding dresses itself has connotations to western/christian style weddings, which maybe in direct conflict with having a Shinto style wedding.

Though I'm no expert on these matters.

I'm not saying "don't do it", but I would certainly agree to check with the people conducting the wedding to see what they might think. I would just say, that it would be extremely strange, and that if you want to have the experience, save some money and wear traditional Japanese style

I think I must have been the one who posted the thing about "having a ceremony for only 1,000 dollars (not including the dressing)," but what that meant was that you would bring your own kimono and the whole kit and you can get dressed yourself without any rental kimono or dressing help needed at the shrine facilities (yes, some people attend courses to be able to put on kimono yourselves).

I might go as far as to say don't do it, for all the reasons other posters have already mentioned.

Clarification to something I wrote earlier.

Earlier I wrote:
It's like how someone mentioned, how extremely strange it would be for a Japanese person to have a Western style wedding (even if they aren't Christian) but wear a traditional kimono vs a wedding dress for the ceremony.

What I meant to say was: "It would be strange for a person having a western/christian style wedding to be wearing a Kimono or Shinto style clothing." and vice versa for a Shinto Style wedding and for the bride or groom to be wearing a tuxedo and western style wedding dress, it would just be tooo odd.

I did not mean to say that it is strange for Japanese people to have western style weddings even if they are not Christian, these days it happens quite a bit, to have a western style ceremony.

I can see where everyone is coming from. I thought about it after and I realize that the symbolism of the Japanese dress would be lost by doing it that way.

Our original plan was to just sneak out under Miyajima's torii at dawn and say our vows there.

I understand the notion behind the wedding dress, although I doubt many people connect it with Christianity anymore. My religious views, while not specifically Shinto, involve multiple Gods and reverence of nature. That being said, I respect the basis of what Shinto believes, and would fee more emotion out of that ceremony than one in a church.

I mostly started to consider doing a more formal ceremony because several other people actually agreed to go with us. I though vows under the torii might be akward to have people watching (maybe the informality would make me more nervous or something).

Still, our love of Japan was how we met and we were engaged on Fuji-san, so it means a lot to us.

I did talk with a Shinto priest at Tsubaki shrine of America who told me either dress was fine, but that is also America.


I think I'll be taking everyone's advice, though. If we can't afford the full Shinto ceremony, maybe it's better to not have one.

Are you talking about the floating tori at Miyajima? it is either in the water or in the mud, depending on the tides, so that would be another set of problems! high tide and you need a small boat for the party-the boat may not be allowed under the tori--low tide and everybody would be clomping about in the mud! in addition the tides happen nearly every 12 hours so you have to find out well in advance as tides at a given time--like dawn-- only happen every so often. Besides all that you just can't pop in Japan and be married quickly!.
It would be much easier to be legally married in the USA (not necessarily your home town, many countries require that the bride and groom live in the place where the wedding will take place for several weeks at least, but I don't know about the USA). You could exchange wows --only the 2 of you--in any place you want in Japan.

No, we'd be in front of it. Wherever on the beach that was dry. When we saw it before, the tide was very low and we could get really close. Even if it was high tide, I'm sure we could find a place somewhere.

We've also already researched how to do the paper work. It's actually a lot easier than one might think. I know several people on the boards have done it. We'd get that done in Tokyo the day before.

this spot looks pretty nice at hightide :)


http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/22642/108656/t/727598-Tame...

The "beach" area in front of the shrine, where the torii is, is a tidal mudflat. While it is a sandy mud and you won't be sinking up to your ankles, you won't be wanting to wear your best white shoes either.

In the 60s it was completely common for the (Japanese) bride and bride groom to wear Western style wedding dresses and morning coats at shinto ceremonies.

Dress has nothing to do with religion. Just wear something respectful. For example, getting married in T-shirts and jeans would be a totally different story.

But of course, this is an anonymous internet forum. Confirm by emailing the shrine in mind.

This is kind of a silly idea if neither your husband or you are Japanese or Shinto. Kinda treating cultures like a buffet; "I'll have a little of this, a little of that..." Completely devalues the idea of a traditional Shinto wedding.

A Shinto wedding is certainly not expensive. My fiancee (Japanese) and I (Canadian) are doing one in a couple of weeks. Total cost is 35,000 yen. That leaves you with lots of money to rent costumes.

if i were a guest to your wedding i'd think it was ridiculous if you walked out into a shinto ceremony wearing a western dress. it smacks of tackyness. don't do it. even the thought of it furthers the negative stereotype of westerners.

just stick to a normal western wedding or do an all shinto wedding, though a completely shinto style wedding would seem a bit weird too since neither of your are japanese.

dunno. just my opinion. seems weird to me. i wouldn't do it.

Come on you guys! be nicer to a young couple in love! their romantic notions aren't any weirder than those of Japanese brides who are married in a make believe Christian wedding celebrated by a fake priest. This all harmless really!

You guys are totally over looking the entire "fake Christian wedding thing, as the last poster noted. Also, my true religious beliefs are similar to some of the Shinto teachings. If you think it wouldn't look good, that's one thing- but that stuff about a buffet is out of line.

It's not just because I think it's cool. I really respect the traditions and if there was a shinto shrine near me I would attend. I think you're the one giving negative sterotypes by assuming you know anything about my intentions. I prefer to hear from people who actually have knowledge on the subject.

Thanks but no thanks on the helpless advice certain people are giving me. :P

I appreciate your answer.