In Japan, no wedding ceremony is required under law. Couples are officially married once they submit the required documents to city hall. However, many couples choose to hold wedding ceremonies to commemorate their marriage.
There are traditional Shinto-style ceremonies and Christian-style ceremonies to choose from. Although these two ceremonies are religious in name, for many Japanese these types of ceremonies are more a matter of style and not religion.
A Shinto-style ceremony is normally held at a Shinto shrine.(See the picture!) Nowadays however, a Shinto shrine is sometimes equipped inside a hotel specifically for wedding purposes. That way, a hotel can provide a total wedding package including a formal ceremony and a reception to follow.
At big weddings, couples often have a formal Shinto-style ceremony, followed by an informal western-style ceremony. That way, the bride gets to wear both kimono and a wedding dress. During the “wardrobe change”, guests are served with food and drinks and wait for the couple to re-appear.
Christian-style wedding ceremonies are also very popular in Japan.They are generally held in a chapel, conveniently located inside a hotel. The “ministers” of these marriages are often not actual Christian ministers. Again, Japanese weddings are more about styles than religion.
