DESTINATION WEDDINGS IN JAPAN
You bring the people. Let’s make a day of it.
Jinya
The people coming to your wedding know different chapters of your lives. Bringing them to Japan gives those histories somewhere to meet, and something new to share. You get to make your promises with them beside you, then enjoy the rare pleasure of having them all there.
We love the anticipation in that. The first gathering, the ceremony, the room you have imagined with everyone finally in it. Each part can have its own energy while belonging to a celebration that feels unmistakably yours.
37 Frames plans and produces destination weddings in Japan, from intimate gatherings to larger celebrations, for one day or several. We begin with the two of you, the people you want beside you and the ideas you are most excited to bring to life.
Why a destination wedding in Japan?
And is there anywhere in the world quite like Japan for your wedding? At the places we love, the service is impeccable and the hospitality really is next level. You feel it in the welcome, in the care over dinner and in the thought that goes into making people comfortable.
You can introduce your people to somewhere you already love, or discover it together. The wedding gives the trip its occasion; the time around it lets the place become familiar. Conversations begun over the welcome dinner can continue the next morning. People who knew one another mainly through your stories can leave with stories of their own.
Japan is not simply the setting for your wedding. It is a collaborator in it.
That belief changes the planning. The architecture, the season, the food and the way a place welcomes people all contribute to what you create. We bring your ideas into conversation with those qualities, looking for the version that could belong to these people, in this place.
CELEBRATING IN JAPAN
Japan can be the host. You still get to be yourselves.
Part of what makes celebrating in Japan so extraordinary is the hospitality. The care, the food, the precision, the sense that every detail has been considered. We love that about being here.
But destination weddings also bring people, traditions and ways of celebrating from all over the world. Some gatherings are quiet and ceremonial. Others involve long dinners, several generations taking turns at the microphone, music that changes the energy of the room and a dance floor everyone has been waiting for.
Both can belong here.
Our job is not to make your wedding feel less like you in order for it to work in Japan. Nor is it to ask a Japanese venue to become something it isn’t. The interesting work is finding the place where those two things can meet.
That is why we look well beyond the photographs when we consider a venue. How flexible is the evening? What can happen around dinner? How are music, speeches and cultural traditions handled? Where can guests gather? What does the property need from us, and what do you need from it?
The right setting gives us room to collaborate.
Japan brings the hospitality, the place, the craftsmanship and its own way of doing things. You bring your people, your traditions and the way you celebrate when nobody is asking you to tone it down into someone else’s idea of a wedding.
That is when a destination starts to feel like yours.
A wedding with room for you.
Tell us what you are already looking forward to. A ceremony that brings family traditions together. A dinner with time to settle into it. An evening that finds everyone on the dance floor. The priorities may be different for each of you; understanding them is part of the pleasure of getting to know you.
We develop the art direction around your point of view, considering the visual identity and the experience together. How a space is composed matters, but so does how it comes to life once your people are in it.
The details matter. So does the atmosphere between them.
From there, we bring the decisions into order: finding the venue, developing the design, bringing together suppliers and planning how your guests will move through the celebration. You’ll know what we need from you and what we’re taking care of.
Our English-speaking planning team coordinates the preparations and leads production on the day. You can spend it with your people, knowing there is someone looking after what happens next.
We plan the wedding day itself or a celebration across several days, from a welcome dinner to a farewell gathering.
An open afternoon gives people time for another long lunch, a walk, or a conversation they want to finish.
Let the place be part of the day.
A ryokan stay may bring everyone together again over breakfast. A city wedding can connect very different settings for the ceremony and the evening. A mountain or island journey can give your people somewhere new to experience together.
We look at the stay, the dining and the party while finding the ceremony setting. Private use may open possibilities at one property; another celebration may work beautifully across two places. The right choice comes from how you want the whole experience to unfold.
We also consider what it takes for guests to enjoy being there: the wedding-related accommodation, transfers, information and time to settle in. For personal travel beyond the celebration, we can introduce Awayuki’s separate, optional service.
A real gathering at Jinya.
Family traveled from three countries for this Greek-Japanese wedding at Jinya Ryokan. The celebration brought meals, conversations and time together into one stay.
Dee and Sumika led planning and production. Tracey, Nick, Junko and Naoki created the photography and film. The Journal brings you closer to the people and the celebration.
The day, and what you take home.
The photographs will bring you back to the people, the place and the day you made together. We take that responsibility seriously.
Every wedding we plan is photographed by 37 Frames. Photography is quoted separately from wedding planning, with collections based on coverage hours and whether Tracey is part of your photography team.
Dee’s planning team and Tracey’s Creative Team work together from the beginning. The light for your ceremony, the flow of the evening and the time you spend with your guests are considered together. Film and wedding content creation are optional additions.
Before the invitations go out.
Begin with an inquiry up to 18 months before your wedding. You can book our team and reserve your date then, with planning beginning around a year before the celebration. Tell us about yourselves, the dates or season, who you hope to bring and the budget you have in mind. Include what drew you to 37 Frames and the ideas you would most like to explore.
We share our Collections and Wedding Planning guides with our reply to your inquiry. Once you have read them, and if availability and alignment are right, we’ll invite you to a complimentary one-hour Zoom. It gives us time to get to know you and begin a more particular conversation about your wedding.
Our planning fee covers the work of planning and producing your wedding. Your wider wedding budget includes the venue and suppliers, from florals and catering to photography and music. We explain the scope and costs in Japanese yen in your proposal. Substantial additional events may need their own planning scope and fee.
What are you imagining?
A place. A feeling. A few ideas. Start wherever you are.
Tell us about your weddingChoosing to elope, just the two of you? Explore our dedicated elopement experience.