Although Japan is not often considered the best place for sexual equality, steps are definitely being taken in the right direction. More and more women are trailblazing lifelong careers in not always hospitable corporate environments and forgoing more traditional routes such as marriage and becoming a full-time homemaker.
But sometimes this comes at the cost of getting married and starting a family. While some women are perfectly fine with this, others will no doubt feel the occasional pang of regret when they consider that they never had a chance to get all dressed up and be the center of attention for the day like many of their friends and family.
That’s why Kyoto-based company Cerca Travel has set up a service providing all the glamor of a wedding without any of the commitment in what they call a “Solo Wedding.” That’s right: women can now have the full wedding day experience without actually having to get hitched.
A Solo Wedding is a two-day excursion where clients spend the night in a hotel as they go in for dress fittings, bouquet design, hair and make-up, and even a full photo shoot. Each of these services is handled by a professional in the industry and done with the same level of quality and attention to detail as a real wedding ceremony.
When she’s all done up, the tour coordinator will take the solo bride to some beautiful Kyoto backdrops which complement her appearance for a commemorative photo shoot. If wedding dresses aren’t your cup of champagne, Cerca Travel can also set you up with one of the many other historical dress-up tours around Kyoto such as putting on Geisha make-up and clothes. There is also an option to have a decorative man between the ages of 20 and 70 to pose alongside you, but reportedly none of the 10 women who have enjoyed the Solo Wedding experience since Cerca began offering it in June this year have opted to do so, instead focusing on making the day all about them.
Cerca Travel’s website has some testimonies from past solo-brides:
“It really felt like a dream. I didn’t really care about the wedding dress because I was married and had children already.” [divorcee in 50s]
“That was the best!! I feel great! I’m dating a guy but have totally put off the pain that is getting married. I always wanted to wear a wedding dress and I didn’t want to regret it, but I also didn’t want to pester my boyfriend.” [single in 30s]
“Thank you for the other day. My childhood dream came true at 38…! It really was like a dream.” [single in 30s]
There are a variety of packages to choose from, but since the cheapest starts at around 300,000 yen, just like a real wedding this may be something that you’ll only want to do once.
It goes without saying that this vacation is probably not for everyone, as whether this is a glamorous weekend out or depressing reminder of one’s relationship status really just depends on the individual’s state of mind. Ultimately, though, we see nothing wrong with a woman taking a couple of days to be fussed over, and if there’s a company out there willing to do just that, why not do a little (okay, a lot of) selfish spending?
|
雖然日本不是性別平等的理想之地,但是它正朝著正確的方向邁出步伐。越來越多的女性放棄了結(jié)婚成為全職家庭主婦的傳統(tǒng)路線,開拓性的選擇終身從業(yè)(即使工作環(huán)境可能不友好)。
但有時這要以犧牲結(jié)婚、無法建立家庭為代價。有些女性可以泰然接受,而對于另一些人,當(dāng)她們想到?jīng)]有機會像朋友和家人那樣完美打扮成為婚禮焦點時,無疑會感到后悔難過。
這就是為什么位于京都的Cerca旅游公司推出了這項提供所有婚禮的魅力但卻沒有任何承諾的“單人婚禮”服務(wù)。沒錯:女性現(xiàn)在可以不必結(jié)婚就擁有一次完整的婚禮經(jīng)歷了。
單人婚禮是一個為期兩天的短途旅行,客戶在晚間入住旅館,在這里,公司會為其適配禮服、設(shè)計花束、盤發(fā)和化妝,甚至拍攝一套完整的照片。就像真正的婚禮儀式一樣,這里的每一項服務(wù)都由業(yè)內(nèi)的專家來處理,質(zhì)量上乘,注重細(xì)節(jié)。
當(dāng)新娘準(zhǔn)備就緒后,旅游協(xié)調(diào)員將會帶這位單人新娘去京都美景勝地拍攝紀(jì)念照。倘若婚紗禮服不是你的菜,Cerca旅游還可以為你另行安排京都許多其他歷史裝扮,例如藝伎的妝容和服飾。新娘還有一個選擇權(quán),即她可以選擇一個20-70歲之間的男性象征性的站在旁邊拍照。然而據(jù)報道,自從今年6月提供這項選擇到現(xiàn)在,享受過單人婚禮的10位女性都沒有選擇這樣做,而是選擇在這一天專注于自己。
Cerca旅游網(wǎng)站上一些單人新娘的留言:
“這真的感覺像做夢一樣。我真的不關(guān)心婚紗,因為我曾經(jīng)結(jié)過婚并且已經(jīng)有了孩子?!?/p>
[50多歲的離婚女性]
“這是最好的!我感覺棒極了!我正和一個家伙約會,但是已完全擺脫了要結(jié)婚的痛苦。我一直想穿婚紗,我不想后悔,但我也不想讓我的男朋友煩惱?!?/p>
[30多歲的單身女性]
“謝謝這一天。我兒時的夢想終于在38歲實現(xiàn)了!這真像做夢一樣?!?/p>
[30多歲的單身女性]
這項服務(wù)有多種套餐可供選擇,但是由于起價高達30萬日元左右,就像真正的婚禮一樣,你也許只想經(jīng)歷一次。
不用說,這個假期很可能并不適合所有人,因為這可能是個迷人的周末,也可能令人沮喪地提示著一個人的婚姻狀況,這些都取決于個人的心理狀態(tài)。不過說到底,我們看到的沒有錯,讓一個女人受寵若驚幾天,如果有一個公司愿意做到這一點,那么為什么不為自己多花一點(好吧,許多)錢呢?
(譯者 Bistu1103甄海迪 編輯 祝興媛)
掃一掃,關(guān)注微博微信
|