My first Zoom wedding attendance experience
On a late September day, my older cousin “Masa” sent out a message to our family’s chat group that he was getting married in December.
Masa, who is eight years older than me, is a fun and cool guy. But, I had rarely heard of his relationships or marriage. So I was surprised and happy to hear this news.
But unfortunately, I live far away from Japan. Considering the corona pandemic situation, it was difficult for me to fly back to my home and attend the wedding. So I just told congratulations to him by the texts and left the attendance to my parents and my sister.
Late November. I started to hear about increased restrictions on sightseeing trips and long-distance travels in Japan. My mother texted me that due to Corona, they decided not to attend the wedding. My cousin, auntie and uncle live in Gifu, the middle of Japan. And my family lives in Yokohama, the east. So, it needs a long-distance train ride to get there, which is not recommended during this time. Furthermore, Masa’s younger sister (namely, “M”), who lives in Tokyo, also had to cancel attending. I was feeling pity that even his own sister couldn’t see his wedding.
Then there was another message from Masa. “Instead, we’ll broadcast the ceremony on Zoom, do you want to join?”
“A Zoom wedding? That’s so new!” I thought.
And since it’s online, it can be held anywhere, even abroad. Being so curious, I decided to “attend” the wedding via Zoom.
But, later, some questions arose. “Will I just sit and watch a video of the wedding…?” , “ What should I wear?”, “What am I going to do in front of the computer alone? While every one is eating at the ceremony…?”, etc.
To be honest, I thought it would be a bit weird.
Finally, the wedding day came. It started at 1 pm Japan time.
And, it was 5 am German time.
I’m sorry to say, but I could not help but oversleep. It’s a terrible thing to do if it was a real wedding.
I hurried to open my PC on my bed and clicked the URL for the Zoom meeting that had been sent out in advance. There, a scene of the wedding hall was on the screen. And, there were numbers of squares with different faces above it.
Those who have used the tool might know it, but on the Zoom meeting screen, you will see the names and faces of all the meeting members.
“Oh, I should look decent!” I immediately combed my hair and changed out of my pyjamas into “normal clothes”.
In the ceremony hall, all the Zoom participants seemed to be being projected on the wall or something. The bride and groom looked into the camera and waved at us times to times.
The wedding proceeded, and speeches were made by friends and family. I was just watching it leisurely. Suddenly, the ceremony moderator commented on the microphone, saying “Now, I’d like to invite every one on Zoom to say a few words.”
“Wait a minute.” I thought. At weddings, the speeches are always planned with certain personnels in advance. So, I was sceptical if my name would be called. But, the moderator randomly and unpredictably called out the names of the relatives and the friends to make them say something. And, my turn came.
My mind was blank. Hiding the fact that the lower half of my body was still under the duvet, I started like, “Well, I’m watching from Germany. It’s still 6 am here…”. That was all I could manage to say.
One by one, the other Zoom participants appeared on the screen, all of them equally confused and making slightly inaccurate comments. Some of the participants seemed quite relaxed, like they were driving and talking from a car park or drinking at some bar.
But that’s not all. I though this gave us a strong sense of participation, as all the Zoom attendees had to be seen on the screen and say something.
The ceremony went smoothly and the bride and groom had to leave to change in another dresses (it is common to wear several dresses in Japanese weddings). I quickly made myself a cup of tea and ate a banana for breakfast. And I texted my sister in Japan “How is it going over there?”.
She replied, “M came over to our house and we are having champagne and ham!”. Perhaps, this is the new and the good about Zoom wedding. Everyone can enjoy themselves in their own places and their own ways.
After coming back, the bride and groom sang together warmed our hearts. On the Zoom, the attendees typed each different comment such as “It was great!”, “That was really good! “, “You guys are entertainers (thumbs-up)!”, and so on.
And then the climax. The bride read the letter to her parents. I was unexpectedly moved to tears by her kind personality and her love for her family, even though I had never met her before.
Just by watching through the screen, I could see better how much the bride and groom care for each other and simply happy together.
To be honest, I thought I would never be moved by the Zoom wedding, but surprisingly, it was so touching.
So after the wedding, at around 8 am German time, I was sitting on my bed alone, feeling very happy and full of joy.
Congratulations to the two!My first Zoom wedding attendance experience
