YOKO + BLAINE

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Yoko and Blaine. These two amazing humans of New York planned their wedding in Yoko’s grandmother’s town, Kyoto. After their western style wedding at Shozan Resort, we met again for an “after the wedding” session exploring Kyoto.

Over the last few years I grew fascinated by Japanese culture, design, and architecture. It became a big dream to visit Japan, but I did not yet imagine I would be blessed to also document a wedding there. During this trip, I spent two weeks exploring and discovering Japan. 

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Honeymoon Session in Gion, Kyoto’s Geisha District

I met Yoko and Blaine early in the morning. We walked along the streets of Gion, Kyoto’s old exclusive geisha district. This historic neighbourhood of Kyoto is full of wooden townhouses, “machiya“. Before WW2, Kyoto’s machiyas were owned by merchants and craftspeople. Machiyas are traditional Japanese houses, with tatami mat floors, spare decoration, exposed wooden beams, and sliding shoji or fusuma doors between rooms. Today,  most machiyas of Gion host art galleries, teahouses, and high-end restaurants.

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Japanese Tea Garden

In the afternoon we returned to Shozan Resort and spent some time in a tranquil Japanese teahouse garden. We also took a stroll through the lovely Shozan Resort Garden. This garden was a real jem. It hosts another old tea house, beautiful rare trees, and a few extremely old bonsai. However, it is not yet very popular with tourists. 

Pre Wedding Session in Gion | Best Kyoto Wedding Photographer | Shozan Resort Garden Pre Wedding | Japan Gion Pre-Wedding Session Kyoto | Pre Wedding Photos at a Japanese Zen Temple in Kyoto | Honeymoon at Shozan Resort Kyoto

Wedding dress: BHLDN by Anthropologie #BHLDNbrides
Location: Gion Wedding Photos + Shozan Resort Japanese Garden

If you are planning your wedding in Japan, I warmly recommend getting married at Shozan Resort Kyoto. The resort offers different possibilities for wedding ceremonies and parties, excellent dinning, well experienced staff, and charming surroundings. 

I’d also love to hear about your wedding plans, I’d be delighted to document your day. You can get in touch here.