If you are not Christian but yearn for a Christian style wedding, Japan is the destination.
Statistics say that more than 60% of Japanese couples conduct their ceremony in Christian style. With only 1% of population being Christian, how can it be possible?
I must say that Japanese people are flexible about religions. With the nature of Shinto, a Japanese indigenous religion, being polytheistic, people respect different gods and religions and try to take in good parts from each. It is quite a norm for a person to marry with a Christian wedding and die with a Buddhist funeral.
If you are not a Christians, there are many commercial chapels that accepts anyone, while most authentic churches require the couples to be real Christian or to take pre-wedding seminars.
Other 15 to 20% choose a Shinto style ceremony. You will find many Shinto shrines throughout the country. A Shinto wedding ceremony originates in the beginning of the 20th century when the Prince of the time conducted his wedding in Shinto style for the first time.
If you would like an oriental wedding style wearing a kimono and respect the local culture, a Shinto ceremony in a shrine is your choice. The ceremony is conducted in solemn and authentic Shinto style. Most shrines welcome non-Japanese couples, provided everything is conducted in Japanese and that you either understand the language or have an interpreter.
Conveniently, major hotels in Japan offer packages that include a ceremony and a following banquet in the hotel. The hotels have in-house mimic chapels and shrines, so you don't have to move from one place for the ceremony to another for the banquet. What's also convenient is that international hotels have multi-lingual staff.
If you choose a Shinto ceremony, you don't have to give up wearing a white wedding dress. Many brides enjoy changing dresses several times: a kimono for the ceremony, a wedding dress at the beginning of the banquet and an evening dress later.
It is (supposed to be) a once-in-a-lifetime event. Enjoy!
