Miranda and Shota’s Colourful Japanese Australian Wedding

Miranda & Shota

I love nothing more than seeing a wedding where two cultures not only meld together but truly create a day that is as unique and as beautiful as the couple marrying. Miranda and Shota’s wedding day was a mix of Australian, Scottish and Japanese culture. The couple deciding to get rid of what they didn’t want (like a first dance!) and include things they loved (like an Australian Women’s Weekly cake table!) The result? A beautiful day that was very “Miranda And Shota”. The couple chose Solas Photography to capture their day.

Miranda tells the tale of how they came to be. “Shota was 8 months into a road-trip around Japan. When the snow started falling in Hokkaido and he couldn’t camp outside anymore, he took a job as a chef in a ski resort. I was working in that resort. One of the people he met along the way on his trip who also ended up taking a job as refuge from the snow became Shota’s Best Man.”

The Distillery  created the unique wedding invitations that set the scene for the day.

The groom and groomsmen wore traditional Japanese Hakama.

Miranda wore a custom made gown with a Japanese touch, explaining ” My dress was made from vintage kimono silk (something old)”. She added blue shoes from Shoes Of Prey.

The couple chose a first look before the ceremony, Miranda telling, “Before the ceremony we got photos taken at Mt Lofty house where the girls got ready and at the Mt Lofty Train Station where I used to play as a kid.”

Of their photographers, Miranda exclaims, “They were incredible! I couldn’t have asked for more. James was such wonderful fun on the day. It stormed all morning and we got terrific shots in the pouring rain. He kept the mood up and kept reminding us that it was our day and we could do whatever we wanted. At the ceremony and reception I didn’t even notice him being there, yet he got all these great shots. He even sent us the ‘best of’ shots the very next day!”

The couple chose Miranda’s mother’s garden for their wedding, Miranda noting, “The ceremony and reception was at my parent’s house in Crafers in the Adelaide Hills. It’s the home I grew-up in and the garden which is my Mother’s pride and joy.”

For her walk down the aisle, Miranda chose, ” ‘The Entrance’ from Madame Butterfly (sung by our talented opera singer friend and accompanied by her concert pianist husband) – handy friends.”

The ceremony had a different twist, “As we are not religious, rather than a bible reading, two friends did a reading of the best love inspired movie quotes of all time (you had me at hello, I’m also just a girl standing in front of a boy…etc).”

“It was so personal. Just a really intimate celebration of our relationship with our closest friends and family. We all went on an emotional roller coaster together, from not a dry eye in the house during some speeches to standing ovations and roaring laughter in others.”

“After we were pronounced man and wife, our dog ran to greet us with a ‘just married’ sign on her tail.”

A Japanese touch was the 1000 paper cranes that hung from trees to decorate the ceremony area. The bride tells, “My bridesmaids made 1000 paper cranes for luck and hung them all over the garden.”

“My Mother sewed all the napkins and table runners out of kimono silk. She also added kimono silk to all the bridesmaid’s dresses. My Grandfather wrote all the calligraphy signage.”

The wedding dessert was a table of cakes baked by guests, the bride remembering, “Guests made all the cakes (they re-created our favorite cakes from the past, like my 9th birthday Women’s Weekly swimming pool cake and my parent’s giant lamington wedding cake etc). The absolutely stunning flowers which were a combination of Japanese and Australian blooms, picked in the Adelaide Hills, were created by  The Tenth Meadow .”

As with the rest of the day, family and friends went out of their way to make sure both cultures were present on the day, Miranda telling, “The best man learned English just to make his speech. My mum learned Japanese to make hers. As a surprise, a friend organised a traditional Japanese drummer and pan-flute player to play a traditional Scottish song (as a nod to both of our heritages).”

Miranda notes, “We didn’t do a first dace. I’ve never seen one that hasn’t looked awkward and uncomfortable so we scrapped it. We broke all the rules really and just did things that we wanted to do, and didn’t do the things we didn’t want to.”

The finishing touch of the wedding day was a film by Daniel Hamilton, Adelaide Wedding Videos.

https://vimeo.com/115514229

Congratulations on your marriage Miranda and Shota! Thank you for sharing your day with us, thank you also to Solas Photography for sharing today’s wedding.