Though we officially got married in the Toshima Ward city hall six months ago, that was just paperwork–we didn’t even raise a hand and swear to do anything. Just signing papers. They wouldn’t even give us a wedding certificate–they asked us why we would want such a thing. But we were officially husband and wife.

Well, if that made us legally married, today made us feel really married. After a week of heavy planning, buying, checking, rechecking, and so forth, the big day came, and we had the ceremony in the United States with our family. Despite a few minor hiccups, the event went very, very well. We came to the Gatehouse just after noon. The Gatehouse is a kind of semi-public house on the same plot of land with Menlo Park’s city hall, police station, library, and sports center. It is surrounded by brush and trees, with a nice yard with a fountain. You can rent it out for occasions, as we did.

We dragged in the chairs, the audio equipment, and all of our gear. Sachi came in and the hairdresser got started on her. With a team of four assistants, they got her ready faster than expected, and the photographer could get more good shots done than we expected. Then guests started arriving, and things got crazy as I was still setting up the video cameras, we were still taking portrait shots, and I wanted to greet so many relatives I had not seen for years and years.

Eventually, we got to the ceremony and it went more or less flawlessly. Sachi and I said our vows with tears in our eyes, put rings on each other’s fingers, and kissed. Husband and wife, Mendelsohn’s march, and then more photos. And a few more photos. Then chatting while we short-handedly rushed to put everything back in the cars and prepped to go to the restaurant. Everyone was great. Relatives came in from Oregon, southern California, Sacramento, and even the east coast. All for a few hours of ceremony and dinner. We love them all.

After a great meal and as much talking as we could cram in, we called it a night–had to, as we leave early tomorrow morning for the airport. We leave the house before 9am Sunday, and will arrive in Japan late afternoon or early evening Monday–then Tuesday we have a meeting with wedding planners and a wedding rehearsal to attend.

That’s for our second wedding in Tokyo, a week from today.

We’re tired!

But we’re having great fun. The video seems to have turned out fairly well (three cameras, one not placed as well as I’d hoped), and the photographer should be getting the images to us fairly soon. When all that comes in, I’ll make another post with full details.

But right now we’re beat, and have to pack. More later.