The Big Day Part II

Having a traditional Nova Scotian wedding was fantastic!  I was thrilled that Ryota could finally be introduced to my culture and customs, and a wedding was as good a place as any to get acquainted with Canadian traditions.  I especially liked exposing him to all the public displays of affection that are involved.  He thought I was joking the first time I told him about kissing in front of everyone whenever the guests clinked their glasses.  But he soon found out that it was no tall tale! Notice how thrilled Mia looks!  And Ryota taking it all in stride like a champion.

Here is a 'banned in Asia' shot.  Ryota had a really hard time knowing that people were watching us kiss, but he is having an even harder time with the idea of people in Thailand or Japan seeing this photo.  Public displays of affection just aren't done here, even if it's your wedding day!  Not that this is stopping me from posting the photo.  I'm pulling foreigner status and asserting my culture claims here. Sorry to anyone who is feeling squeamish or hideously embarassed!

Heidi caught this magical moment between Julie and I.  I think that Ryota was jealous.  (hee hee!)

To shake things up a bit, we started kissing people other than each other when the glasses were clinked.  As you can see by the photo, Kuroki was very happy to get a kiss by me.  No no, that scream was a scream of delight!

The other big cultural adjustment was the dance that followed the reception.  Ryota and the J-boys got some dance lessons from everyone to get them through the waltzes.  My grandmother Shirley gave technical details, and Krista and Julie volunteered themselves as partners for training runs.  Ah yes, and Mia and Shelby were in charge of the dance instruction for cool dancing.

Which was the other amazing thing about having a wedding in Nova Scotia:  the kindness and help that everyone offered.  It was incredible.  The Lion's Club volunteered their catering and almost all of my family and friends helped out.  Thank you so much to everyone for doing so so much!  Here is my father thanking some of the people that helped out.

Here we are with my mother.  She is the wizard who put most of the wedding together.  I definitely wasn't getting as much accomplished from Thailand as I would have liked to, but everything was safe in her hands.  Perfect, actually.

My friends kindly supported the Lion`s Club by purchasing large quantities of alcohol.  Though not specifically Heather as this photo might suggest. My father is still a little overwhelmed by "how much those little girls can drink".

I've probably already mentioned that Kuroki brought down the house with his speech, but the microphone made a few other rounds that evening.

Julie made a lovely speech and even toasted us in Japanese!

Another dynamic speech was given by Ryota.

Ryota was greeted with peals of laughter when he mentionned in his speech that I was gentle.  I think most of the laughter came from my mother, in fact.  Of course, the uproar was even greater when he said it again...with bunny ears. "GENTLE".  Indeed.

Here are a few more shots to prove to you that the kissing spree had no end.

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