The Dynamic Duo

The Wedding. What more can I say? A lot, that’s what. I just hope I can do it justice. When I get back home and can upload some of my photo attempts, I will use the ‘picture worth 1000 words’ method to better illustrate some of my descriptive attempts. Until then, you may have to use your imagination.
I tried to find the Wedding Agenda I have been given a copy of to aid my memory, but my memory being what it is, I seem to have misplaced it. So I must be forgiven if I leave some stuff out, cause there was a LOT to this shindig.
We later heard that UltraBob got in from his so-called bachelor party sometime in the wee hours of the morning, but he and UltraGirl were still out of the house by 7 a.m. Heather and I got up soon afterward and were out of the house by 8:30, only one-half hour later than we originally planned, but still in time to meet UBob’s friends in front of Zushi Station. The wedding would start at 10 a.m., and over by 1:30 p.m. Several taxi-cab companies had been contracted with to take us all to the wedding, and M.J. and Yoshi quickly located one. Heather hopped in with them, and Kristen and I caught another and we were off. I had long been nominally acquainted with M.J. and Kristen through blogging, and it was great to finally get to have a face-to-face. Taking advantage of their friendship, UBob had asked Kristen to videotape the wedding, and her husband Todd to be one of the speakers. Yoshi would be playing a guitar solo, and M.J. very helpfully acted as impromptu translator for me and Heather for certain parts of the program.
As some of you may remember the ceremony took place at a French Restaurant / Bridal Center overlooking the beach in Sagami Bay, Kanagawa. It was a beautiful setting, with the ocean as a backdrop behind the wedding pair. When we first entered, we were given a drink and escorted to tables to wait. There we finally met UltraGirl’s mother, Yuri and her brother, Mitsuhiro. We had already met her father, Motoji, when he visited the US with the UltraKids several years ago. We were also introduced to numerous relatives, mostly uncles and cousins. We met a few more of UBob’s non-Japanese friends as well. Stuart, his Japanese wife, and their adorable 2-yr old son were all dressed in kilts. Jeremy, Jonathan & wife were also there; the men had earlier that very morning been bachelor partying with UBob. The MC at the wedding was an attractive Japanese woman, often used for these types of events because she spoke fairly good English. At the right time, the immediate families of the main event were gathered near the foot of the stairs. UltraBob entered, wearing a traditional man’s Japanese wedding kimono, complete with rope tied to fuzzy ball that stopped somewhere about his middle, and which, judging by how often he fingered it, he became quite attached to before the day was over. Then UltraGirl walked in a slow and stately manner down the stairs on Motoji’s arm. She was absolutely beautiful wearing a traditional American wedding dress, complete with veil and long train. Followed a reenactment of the proposal & acceptance a recitation of original wedding vows, exchanging rings, and the ‘kiss’. I was thankful that UBob’s vows were in English, one of the few times I would hear it spoken by key participants. I was touched to hear him say that UltraGirl was his best friend & someone he felt he had always known, and to vow his undying love. I assume UltraGirl said something similar, but am unable to verify. I think it was after this that family was assembled for photos.
Upstairs we were seated at long, elegantly decorated tables. UltraGirl had explained to us that traditionally, close family is seated as far away from the wedding couple as possible to honor the other guests, but this time they had decided to change the custom and seat families closeby, which made me very happy. Motoji and I were seated across from each other on the end, right across from the head table where the UltraKids held court. Yuri and Heather were next, then one of Motoji’s brothers and Mitsuhiro. Various other relatives filled out the rest of the table, but I have to admit that Heather was much better at keeping track of them all than I was. There were several other tables, and about 50 guests in all.
We were served the most amazing meal with numerous courses. Lets see… the first one was some sort of pepper paté served in a small sherbet glass. Followed a clam salad, bean soup, fish plate, some wonderful roast beef and a dessert. I may have left some out; it seemed like more than that. Fresh rolls were frequently brought around, as well as drink of choice. Heather amazed everyone by her proficiency with the chopsticks, while I amazed everyone by continually using the wrong utensils and having to have them replaced before I could eat my next course. The cake was presented, and the first piece fed by each other to bride and groom, but unlike American weddings were that can turn into a cake shove, both were very careful to make as little mess as possible. Then the happy couple themselves served the cake to the guests. During all this, people were continually coming up the UltraKids for photos in different combos; Heather and I were requested for a few. There were several speeches given in there; one by UltraBob’s friend Todd, as I already mentioned, and several by Uncles. Yoshi played his guitar solo, after which everyone (who knew the song) joined in a community sing. In about the middle of everything, it was announced that UltraGirl would be leaving for a costume change, and that someone would be honored by being chosen to accompany her. This lucky someone ended up being Heather, and was a total surprise to her. She later told me that UltraGirl had to keep asking her to walk more slowly and she had a hard time not stepping on the long train, but she was really excited to be chosen. I was similarly honored to escort UltraBob out of the room, but his costume remained the same. When UltraGirl reentered the room, she was dressed in an exquisite green kimono, in which she remained throughout the rest of the wedding.
Near the end, a slide show was presented, showing pictures of UltraBob and UltraGirl as babies, children and finally as adults, together. Mitsuhiro narrated in Japanese, but I was grateful for English captions on the screen. Also, M.J. scooted her chair close and helped us understand some of the running commentary. Then the UltraKids presented their mothers with an armload of fragrant yellow flowers.
Soon, it was the time I had been semi-nervous about all evening; time for my speech. UBob, UGirl, Motoji and I were called up the front of the room. The MC announced that we had all written letters. The UKids letters were presented to their respective parents to be read later , privately , but the parents’ letters were to be read out loud. UBob helpfully held my flowers, and I read my prepared speech. The speech had been sent to UltraGirl weeks before so she could translate, and in the new copy I had been given were notations of where to stop so the speech could be translated into Japanese. I worked so hard on that speech, and hope it sounded okay and said all that I wanted it to say. I must admit I broke up a bit, but I think UltraBob did too, so that was okay. When I get home, I plan to publish the speech on a day I don’t feel like writing a new post, so you can look forward to that! Motoji gave the next talk, but like most of the others, it was 100% in Japanese, as was UBob’s speech that concluded the festivities. The language barrier, though unavoidable, definitely kept me from experiencing everything as completely as I would have liked, but I really appreciated the efforts that were made to keep us in the know. I did learn to bow, and got lots of practice as I said arrigatozoimasta along with the others.
Finally back home, UltraBob announced that he wanted to take his bride off to a hotel to spend the night, a plan Heather and I heartily endorsed. We were able to entertain ourselves by getting a pizza from a local parlor called “Strawberry Cones”, an unusual name, I think for such an establishment. We got a 4-variety pizza: ?Camembert cheese, Shrimp, America Meat, and Teriyaki chicken. Really good.
Stay tuned tomorrow for UltraMom and Heather’s big walking adventure.
For now, syanara
UltraMom