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Rita. Social Media Marketer

The Japanese Wedding Kimono

     It's common knowledge that weddings require proper attire. Black suits and long, white dresses are most common here in America. Elsewhere, however, you'll find there to be an incredible amount of varied traditional articles of clothing for the big day. Take brides in Japan, for example. There, a traditional wedding kimono, also known as a uchikake, is worn by the bride. It's a long robe, longer than the everyday kimono in Japan, meant to be worn over a regular white kimono, a kakeshita, and sash, a obi. 

     Before the Meiji era, these wedding kimonos were worn by the female members of royal or samurai families, only. Nowadays, however, the kimono is strictly for weddings. Recently, a new style of the uchikake has been introduced, the mai curren uchikake, and has since then been gaining more and more popularity amongst weddings in Japan. It has, unlike the original wedding kimono, an unpadded hem, a train, and shorter sleeves. Mai curren uchikake are good at portraying modern Japanese design elements, what with their angular cut sleeves and thin hems, however they lack the symbolic meanings of the original uchikake. All in all, it's clear that a long white gown won't satisfy just anyone; everyone has their own tradition or custom to keep up, even if it is only a dress.

By Julia Dankov

The Will You Marry Me's of the World

     Marriage, the ultimate "I love you". It's the universal event that every happy couple hopes to host one day. However, hoping isn't enough, am I right? A marriage doesn't just occur out of nowhere, action must be taken to make it work. This is where a gift and a nervous "will you marry me?" comes in handy, for engagement is the beginning to every good marriage. You may think, what better way to propose this engagement than to get down on one knee and hold out that beautiful ring you've been saving up for all year? Well, think again. All around the world, people are finding hundreds upon hundreds of different ways to carry out their proposals. 

     Take the people of Japan, for example. It's customary for the families of a soon-to-be-married couple to get together for an event called the yunio. There, they exchange nine gifts with one another. Dried cuttlefish, kelp or konbu, long, linen threads, and folded fans are all very common gifts, for they're all symbolic to the joining of two people. Now, how about the couples of Brazil? There, couples come together for large engagement parties or receptions. During this ceremony, the man of the couple gives to his partner a plain gold ring, which is to be worn by the woman on her right hand up until the day of the actual wedding, where the ring is moved to the left hand. What about the Egyptians? When getting engaged, a couple must get together with both their families to talk about their future together. This is usually where the groom presents to his bride her engagement ring, shabkah (jewelry), and accepts to cover the cost of their future house and other necessities. Isn't that something? 

     Such old traditions and customs have been around since way back when, and fortunately, they've stuck all the way up to present day. Many people choose to go with these old traditions, whereas many other people choose to go about their engagements in far more contemporary ways. But think about it, what fun would it be if everyone was doing the same thing? Diversity is always a good thing. At least we're never bored, what with hearing about all these different ways to do something as seemingly small as ask for someone's hand.

By Julia Dankov

Julia Dankov

Hello, My name is Julia Dankov. I'm in my early high school years, and although my age may be a number of quite obvious scantiness, I long for the ability to have my voice heard no less than any adult you would see on the street. This is why my parents and I agreed that it would be a good idea to have me take a small part in running their blog. Of course, you will see their posts of upcoming events, factual elements of this and that, photography and wedding information, etc. But nobody wants to see only the technical side of things, right? That's where I come in.

Every so often I will be able to enjoy signing my name at the end of the posts that will make all of you smile. You'll open up this website once in a while, only to find a short post about the origin of some fascinating wedding tradition or a fun fact about varied cultural weddings in the midst of all the facts and information that any business blog must have. Hopefully, it will bring back some of the fun that facts have begun to deplete. Enjoy!

VMPhotography Team Introduction

Welcome to our blog,

VMPhotography is a wedding, event, and portrait photography studio. We are doing this for almost twenty years. Working professional photography market and freelancing for various studios in New York and Chicago, we have developed a unique style in wedding and event photography. Our unobtrusive approach and professional skills will allow you to celebrate your day the way you want to and let us document the event for you, your families, and generations to come.

We edit and retouch all images. We do professional level black and white conversion. All images that you receive would be adjusted and ready to print.
We price our services according to your needs and your budget. We would start at $1,800.00 for an 8 to 10 hour wedding day and then would build a custom package for every customer. However, if you have a smaller event, hourly prices are available.

Best regards,
VMPhotography Team