Three Brides?

     On Sunday, August 12, 2012, Dad took us three girls to Osaka.  We went to Westin Hotel where they were holding a Bridal Fair.  Having weddings at hotels is quite common in Japan.  Dad often works at Westin Hotel as the wedding pastor.  On Sunday he had three wedding demonstrations, mogis. In the hotel were displays of several styles of how they could set up the reception room.  Kristi, Tiffy, and I spent the day looking around the hotel.  We admired the variety of tables and room setups, the displayed wedding dresses, and looked through collected photos from the many weddings at Westin Hotel.

 

     When we arrived, we girls and Dad walked through the hotel to find out where things were and what was available.  Dad soon had to get ready for his first mogi, so he left and we girls decided to go back to Osaka station.  We walked through the large electronic store, Yorobashi, and then wandered through a small portion of the shopping mall right next to the train station.  It was just before one o'clock and we were getting hungry.  Thus, we walked back towards the hotel where we bought an obento and something to drink.  Outside there were some lovely gardens.  We didn't walk through them this time (it was pretty hot outside), but I got a glimpse of them when buying lunch and through one of the hotel windows.

      By the time we finished lunch we were pretty hot, so we returned to the lovely air-conditioned hotel.  The main reason we had come to the Bridal Fair was in hopes of trying on one of the wedding dresses.  Seeing that there weren't many customers trying on dresses when we got back to the hotel, we decided to go down and see if it was a good time for us to get dressed up.  We walked into the room and admired the table setup before advancing to the beautiful wedding dresses in the corner of the room.

We looked at the variety of colors and styles for a little bit before one of the staff asked if we wanted to try one on.  Of course we did!  We each selected a dress and with the help of one of the staff we put it on.  We were then escorted to some seats where they did up our hair.  I felt like a princess with my flowing dress and hair done up.

     The three of us walked sedately out of the room to the place where they would take our pictures.  They were really kind and not only gave each one of us two pictures to take home, but also took lots of pictures on my iPod.  Dad happened to walk downstairs between mogis.  Just as we were in the middle of taking pictures, he arrived!  So we were able to get pictures with him, too!  It was quite amazing that he would just happen to come down at the perfect time! We didn't stay in the wedding dresses very long, so the timing had to be very exact!  Here are some fun pictures!

 

So cute!

 

Loved that dress!

Tiffy! You look like a bride!  I don't know if I can handle this.  

My younger sister is growing up!

 

We were able to get some group shots as well!  So fun!

After we tried on the dresses, we were so happy!  We went upstairs to look at the pictures on my iPod and talked about how fun it was to get dressed up.  Having some time to kill, we decided to go to a nearby coffee shop for a small dessert.  We got a small slice of bitter chocolate cake and split it three ways.  Delicious!!

    At 4:15 we met up with Dad and asked if we could watch the Bridal Show.  They let us sit in the back (or front, depending on how you think about it).  They played music, used lasers and spotlights to make lighting effects, and then had three ladies walk in and out displaying a variety of dresses, kimonos, hair-styles, and entrance styles.  It was quite fun to watch!

  

     At five-thirty we watched the mogi, where the wedding ceremony was acted out to show couples what they could expect of a wedding.  I've seen Dad do several mogis before, but I enjoyed seeing it again.

     While Dad was finishing up after the mogi, we girls wandered down to the room with the dresses.  We commented and admired them again just in case the staff wanted to offer to let us try on another.  Unfortunately they didn't.  But I can totally understand why they wouldn't.  Once Dad was finished we said goodbye and left.  We walked across the street to the Sky Hotel, perhaps the tallest building in Osaka.  At the top is a 360° viewing area where we watched the sun set over Osaka.

 

 Osaka

 

 

 

Getting dark

Osaka at night

      Underground we found a nice little restaurant where we had dinner together.  There were some really cool streets and shops in the underground section.

 

     By far the most fun part of the day was getting all dressed up in the wedding dresses!  Three brides?  Not yet, but some day!