The bride and groom kiss in the falling snow as their wedding guests celebrate behind them in a Hakuba forest.

WEDDINGS & ELOPEMENTS IN NAGANO

The Japanese Alps, with your people beside you.

Hakuba

The mountains may already be part of your life together. Or Nagano may be a journey you’ve been talking about for years. Hakuba, Karuizawa and Matsumoto give us different settings and seasons to explore, with a wedding at the center of the visit.

Tell us what you’re drawn to, and who you’d like to share it with. 37 Frames plans weddings and elopements here with the stay, the ceremony and the time afterwards considered together. The landscape can be what brings you. The people will make the trip your own.

Taylah & Will, in the snow

An intimate winter forest ceremony in the Japanese Alps.

Taylah and Will chose an intimate winter forest ceremony in Hakuba. We planned, photographed and filmed their celebration. Their film is a chance to see what a wedding here can feel like, with the people as much a part of the story as the mountains.

Taylah & Will’s Hakuba wedding film

Newlyweds embracing in heavy snowfall among trees in Hakuba. — Hakuba

The ceremony has a whole day around it

A forest ceremony starts well before everyone reaches the trees. We consider the preparation, the journey to the setting and the welcome afterwards as part of one experience.

If you are drawn to winter, warmth and ease of movement influence the creative choices. A room where guests can settle in, well-considered transfers and enough time to enjoy the landscape all contribute to how the day feels. We develop the outdoor plans and alternatives with the property and relevant local teams.

The evening needs its own attention. A small dinner and a reception with dancing ask different things of a venue. Tell us which one you are imagining, or how you would like to bring the two together. The mountains can be the reason for coming; your people will give the evening its character.

A couple in ski goggles lean close in the snow. — Hakuba

The couple stand small on an old stone bridge over a still pond, autumn trees all around, in Karuizawa. — Karuizawa

In black and white, the couple kiss at night as snow falls among lit trees. — Hakuba

From above, a couple stand on a green riverbank in a Hakuba valley in summer, mist on the ski slopes behind. — Hakuba

In black and white, the groom swings the bride up on the dance floor, her arm flung high and guests laughing around them, in Karuizawa. — Karuizawa

A couple walk through a valley of cherry trees in full bloom near Matsumoto. — Matsumoto

The bride stands at the foot of a golden maple, its trunk wound with white flowers, in an autumn garden in Karuizawa. — Karuizawa

The bride and groom walk through falling snow in a Hakuba forest. — Hakuba

In black and white, the groomsmen stride through a misty forest under clear umbrellas, drinks raised, in Hakuba. — Hakuba

The couple walk across a winter hilltop, the snowy peaks of the Japanese Alps behind them, in Nagano. — Matsumoto

In black and white, the couple stand close by an iron gate at night as snow falls through the light, in Karuizawa. — Karuizawa

The bride dances with friends in the snow outside a mountain lodge. — Hakuba

In black and white, the couple hold each other in drifting mist beneath a string of lights at night in Karuizawa. — Karuizawa

The couple embrace on the veranda of an old timber house, snow on the ground before them, near Matsumoto. — Matsumoto

The bride and groom laugh with their bridesmaids beneath cherry trees in full bloom on a hillside near Matsumoto. — Matsumoto

An old timber villa glows with warm light at blue hour, dark pines around it, near Matsumoto. — Matsumoto

A couple walk across a green meadow in a Hakuba valley in summer, mist on the slopes behind. — Hakuba

A mountain setting. Your own sense of style.

You can love the scale of the Alps and still have a very particular idea about the table, the flowers or the way you’d like to dress. We work with those references and the actual property, considering color, materials and light as part of the day.

Our planning and Creative Team develop the celebration together. We want the photographs to hold both the landscape and the people you came to share it with, without spending all your time making photographs. That matters in snow, in autumn color and in every other season you might choose.

The couple stand small beneath a great golden maple in an autumn garden in Karuizawa. — Karuizawa

Just the two of you

For an elopement, we can follow what you love about the place a little further. Where you make your promises, where you stay and what you do afterwards can all grow from the things you most enjoy sharing.

We include planning, 37 Frames photography and most location permits together in the core elopement fee. Accommodation, transport, dining and other elements are additional. Film is optional.

A bride celebrates with friends in falling snow. — Hakuba

A mountain trip for different kinds of people

For a wedding with guests, we plan the arrangements that help the whole group take part, including wedding-related accommodation, transfers and schedules. Tell us about children, mobility needs and anyone who may appreciate more guidance. Time to enjoy the region independently can sit comfortably around the events you share.

You can begin planning from abroad. We work with you in English and investigate the setting here, bringing the creative and practical detail into the same conversation.

Begin your Nagano wedding plans