Finished!!! Its all done and over. The guests have come and gone, the unpacking is proceeding at a lax pace, and there are now TWO Pikes living at Bijogi 2-16-9, Apartment 101. Kotomi and I were married on Sunday, August 21st in her home prefecture of Aomori. Early reviews told us that the ceremony and reception were "wonderful", "beautiful" and "tear-jerking", but rather than sit too high on our horse, we will just say that K and I worked hard to make it a fun time for all.
No doubt this little contribution to the blog will be lost in the sea of pictures I am about to post, but Mrs. Pike and I would again like to thank all of our friends and family who attended, as well as those who passed along their warm wished and kind words. Like I said at the wedding, our happiness is largely due to the love and support of you all.... THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Lastly, here is a brief re-cap of how the wedding went down, as seen from the perspective of the Gaijin Groom....
5:00am... Solitary onsen and mental preparation.
5:30 - 7:55am... Feverishly writing the speeches I had so far put off.
8:00am... Kotomi's Wardrobe and Make-up... Scott was still writing the speeches...
9:15am.... Scott slips into his Kimono
10:00am... Final wedding portrait (The heavens were kind and we got our wish of an outdoor shot)
11:00am... Ceremony rehearsal.... "Wait, wait... what was that middle part he said?"
11:07am... Ceremony - The 9 shots of sake helped to steady the nerves.... Dad, you did great!!!
11:30am... Group Wedding Photo.... again, outside.
12:30pm... Reception rehearsal.... "Ok, now explain it all to me one more time..."
1:00 - 4:00pm Wedding Reception including:
- Fantastic entrance with a rising stage and lush backdrop overlooking an outside fountain
- Wonderful speeches
- "Beer service" from Scott and the 20 kg. keg mounted on his back.
- Guest Karaoke, Janken Tournament (for MONEY!!), Video Tribute (a la Meaux), and Prize Giveaway!
- Special Yosakoi Dance from our dance troop friends... Special Dancer - Scott in his TUX!
- Canada Flag Cake
- Kotomi's Letter to her Parents
-AWESOME FOOD......... or so we were told (no time to eat for the Bride and Groom!)
5:15-7:30pm... The AFTER Party.... good friends and great singing at the local karaoke bar. Scott and Kotomi looked pooped but happy.
8:00pm-12:00am... The AFTER AFTER Party... our beautiful friends proceeded to cultivate memorable hangovers while the newlyweds proceeded to their suite for some much needed downtime. We ate the leftovers of our reception dinner and sipped Dom on our bed, replayed the day over and over in our heads, and passed out around ten.
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