世論 What Japan Thinks

Japanese weddings are another of these things you should experience as both a guest and as a bride or groom, and perhaps even as a minister. To find out what Japanese want to see more of and less of at these events, first what people wanted to do, for both men and women, and what people wish they’d stop doing at weddings, again also for both men and women.

Demographics

Between the 22nd and 24th of April 2008 1,048 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.7% of the sample was female, 7.1% in their teens, 14.7% in their twenties, 29.0% in their thirties, 27.4% in their forties, 11.6% in their fifties, and 10.2% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

Having been married in a kilt, the groom tossing was perhaps the most dodgy event for me! I wish they’d quit just about everything on the list in Q2, as the Japanese weddings I’ve been to have been universally formulaic and rather dull on the whole.

The trumpet shower mentioned in Q2 is trumpets that spit out metallic tape; the giant cracker is a similar effect, but with a huge launcher. The candle-lighting involves going round every table in the pitch dark with a big sword-like fire lighter and lighting a candle in the middle of each table.

Ranking results

Q1: What performance do you want at your wedding or reception? (Sample size=1,048)

Rank		Score
1	Live singing, music	100
2	Dessert buffet	98.6
3	Dress changes	95.8
4	Cake cut, first bite	83.3
5	Memorial photos at each table	76.4
6	Candle-lighting	75.0
7	Bouquet toss	75.0
8	Petal shower	73.6
9	Letter from bride to parents	70.8
10	Welcome board	68.1

Q1: What performance do you want at your wedding or reception? (Sample size=1,048, by sex)

Rank	Male N=506	Score	Female N=542	Score
1	Live singing, music	100	Dessert buffer	100
2	Entertainer, magician performance	96.2	Dress changes	98.3
3	Candle-lighting	80.8	Live singing, music	78.0
4	Groom greeting	80.8	Petal shower	78.0
5	Letter from bride to parents	73.1	Cake cut, first bite	74.6
6	Memorial photos at each table	73.1	Bouquet toss	72.9
7	Cake cut, first bite	61.5	Memorial photos at each table	62.7
8	Champagne tower	50.0	Welcome board	62.7
9	Profile video	50.0	Candle-lighting	55.9
10	Welcome board	46.2	Letter from bride to parents	54.2

Q2: What performance do you quite frankly wish people would quit doing at weddings or receptions? (Sample size=1,048)

Rank		Score
1	Over the top newlyweds entrance (descending from a gondola, etc)	100
2	Newlyweds karaoke	92.9
3	Tossing the groom	66.6
4	Congratulatory speeches from guests	58.7
5	Chef explaining the food	55.5
6	Party pieces from friends, family	52.6
7	Entertainer, magician performance	45.1
8	Giant cracker	44.7
9	Welcome from the guest of honour	44.7
10	Profile video	43.3
11	Letter from bride to parents	36.0
12	Trumpet shower	35.4
13	Cutting kagami-mochi, breaking open sake cask	35.0
14	Balloon release	30.4
15	Champagne tower	26.5
16	Dress changes	23.5
17	Memorial photos at each table	23.1
18	Candle-lighting	21.7
19	Bouquet toss	17.8
20	Welcome board	17.0

Q2: What performance do you quite frankly wish people would quit doing at weddings or receptions? (Sample size=1,048, by sex)

Rank	Male N=506	Score	Female N=542	Score
1	Over the top newlyweds entrance	100	Newlyweds karaoke	100
2	Newlyweds karaoke	81.2	Over the top newlyweds entrance	97.1
3	Tossing the groom	61.1	Tossing the groom	69.2
4	Chef explaining the food	59.0	Congratulatory speeches from guests	59.7
5	Congratulatory speeches from guests	55.5	Party pieces from friends, family	53.1
6	Party pieces from friends, family	50.2	Chef explaining the food	50.9
7	Entertainer, magician performance	43.2	Welcome from the guest of honour	47.3
8	Giant cracker	41.5	Giant cracker	46.2
9	Welcome from the guest of honour	40.2	Entertainer, magician performance	45.4
10	Profile video	39.7	Profile video	45.1
11	Trumpet shower	33.2	Letter from bride to parents	39.9
12	Cutting kagami-mochi, breaking open sake cask	31.0	Cutting kagami-mochi, breaking open sake cask	37.4
13	Letter from bride to parents	30.1	Trumpet shower	36.3
14	Balloon release	25.8	Balloon release	33.3
15	Dress changes	25.3	Champagne tower	26.7
16	Champagne tower	25.3	Memorial photos at each table	23.1
17	Candle-lighting	22.4	Dress changes	21.2
18	Memorial photos at each table	22.3	Candle-lighting	20.5
19	Welcome board	20.1	Bouquet toss	16.1
20	Bouquet toss	19.2	Welcome board	13.9