Weddingbee

Wow, Kristin is a seriously rockin’ friend. In addition to tackling our letterpress invitations, she keeps sending me cool things like environmentally friendly wedding projects, do-it-yourself decorations, and hand-made accessories. I totally should have made her a bridesmaid. She’s way more on-the-ball than most of my other ladies! Hmm… maybe I still could!

Today, she writes:

I was browsing etsy this morning and found something that may interest you. I don’t know if you’re still considering doing some kind of up-do for your hair for the wedding, but if you are, etsy just did a feature on Japanese woman named Atelier Kanawa who is living in Los Angeles, and makes traditional Tsumami Kanzashi hair pieces, like the ones worn with traditional kimono. Some of them are strikingly beautiful. (Look at her sold pieces as well for more.) She also has some videos up on YouTube showing how she makes her pieces and talking about her family, education, etc. and how she learned how to make traditional kimono, tsumami kanzashi and other traditional Japanese craft. One of them also shows a bunch of different styles of pieces she can make. I thought they were really interestingI don’t know if this is the kind of thing that could fit in with your rustic, Montana wedding theme, but I just thought since you are interested in Japan and the things she makes are really beautiful I would pass it along.

I spent part of this morning browsing Atelier’s hair ornaments and they are really, really beautiful. It’s true that most of them wouldn’t work well with the ambiance of our wedding, but I have a feeling I might just want to get one anyway to wear with my yukata!

I lived in Tokyo with a host family for a year, between 2003 and 2004, as part of my secondary bachelor’s degree in Japanese. (My primary degree was in Magazine Journalism.) It was the most amazing experience (and stressful) I’ve ever had!

Toward the end of my stay, I started ogling yukata, which are like a more casual, light, cotton, summer version of a traditional kimono. They’re primarily worn to festivals during the spring and summer months, and though I was leaving for home in early July of 2004, I desperately wanted to get one to bring back with me. A lot of my friends purchased affordable yukata from Uniqlo, which is sort of like the Japanese version of Old Navy. But I was way too tall to fit into Uniqlo’s robes!

My host mother surprised me by taking me to a traditional clothiers in Asakusa, one of Tokyo’s old-town neighborhoods, and having a yukata with matching geta (shoes) made for me. (Did I mention how much I LOVED living with them!?)

Anyway, looking at these hair ornaments made me super nostalgic. I know that they aren’t right for my wedding, but maybe they will be right for yours.

What are some of the beautiful things you’ve found but passed over because they weren’t your wedding style?

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