Can I get married in japan if.........?

Question

Me and My Fiance wants to get married in Japan and we are both U.S. citizens. We want to get married legally in the state of Georgia first and just have a ceremony or exchanging of vows in a nice venue in Japan to avoid going to the embassy or civil office in Japan. Can we do this? What exactly is the process?

Answer 1

Well, if you are engaging into an officially recognized marriage (legal) in the State of Georgia, then other than your passport and enough spending cash, you can go to Japan (or anywhere in the world) for your ceremony. Other than the legally binding license, you shouldn't need any other official paper to pursue a ceremony in Japan.
And while any first-rate hotel (that will probably have an English-speaking staff member if in a major metropolitan city) will accomodate you for any kind of celebration you wish to have based on the money you want to spend and how much time in advance you want to plan it, it certainly depends on what kind of ceremony you are thinking about.
More simply put, if its just a party (even at a hotel), hey, anywhere is fine.
If you want to organize an old traditional Shinto wedding at a shrine with official clothing, etc., that is much more complicated -- sorry, not sure to whom you would turn to help you do that unless you have contacts in Japan, although if you have the money, perhaps a five-star hotel could help arrange it for you.
Good luck and joy on your impending nuptials.

Answer 2

There is no problem doing that - Japanese weddings are only legally conducted at city offices; well, it's not even a ceremony, it's handing over a bit of paper and about as romantic as filing a tax return!

At some later or earlier date Japanese couples often get a fake priest (often English teachers moonlighting) to do a fake service at a fake church usually in a hotel, then there's a two-hour reception free from any spontenaity or... well, you get the picture! You can instead choose to do a ceremony at a shrine or temple, with full kit hire, etc.

Almost every major hotel (and DIsneyland, Puroland (Hello Kitty Land), Universal Studios, etc) have wedding plans available from just the two of you to hundreds of guests, with prices ranging from extortionate to costing an arm and a leg. Find a handy Japanese speaker somewhere, tell them where you might like to get "married", and I'm sure they could easily find something to suit your tastes and perhaps your wallet!

Answer 3

Yes-You can have any type of ceremony you like. It's your marriage license from Georgia that counts. A Japanese couple is married as soon as they register as married at their city office, so your Georgia marriage license makes you married in Japan.