From Japan Today, 3/3/09
"Photo only" weddings become trendy
Couples in Japan have been scaling back their weddings recently, and many prefer simply dressing up, going to a photo studio and taking commemorative photos, inviting no guests to their self-styled "wedding."
The trend comes at a time when more couples, including celebrities, are choosing to hold a less costly wedding, a marriage style called "jimi kon" (no-frills wedding), or holding none, "nashi kon" (no wedding), due mainly to Japan’s economic downturn.
One day in February, a man in a gray suit and a woman wearing a wedding dress and holding a bouquet posed for a photographer at a studio of Watabe Wedding Corp in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward.
The man in his 40s said, "This is only for ourselves. This is our style." He also said they chose the style as they did not want to beat their brains out about whom they should invite to a wedding or party.
Another important use for photography... memorializing a non-event.
Read more:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/photo-only-weddings-become-trendy
As someone who didn't even consider hiring a photographer for my own wedding, I find it interesting that people are willing to pay for a "professional" photo even if they skip everything else. Wedding photographers must be marketing geniuses.
ReplyDeleteThose at Watabe Wedding Corp. seem to be the ones profiting. As the rest of the JT story says:
ReplyDelete"According to Watabe Wedding, the number of photo sessions as weddings at the Tokyo studio marked a 50% year-to-year increase to 450 during the period between October and December 2008.
The company based in Kyoto Prefecture provides some 100 kinds of popular white dresses and dozens of kinds of kimono for brides and the cheapest course is priced at 48,000 yen."
Watabe is present in Hawaii as well, where many Japanese travel to get married. My friend rented a kimono from Watabe in Honolulu for his wedding.