Guam Wedding (tons of pictures, be warned!)

Last weekend I went to Guam with the Yamamoto family. I met them three years ago on a plane ride home from Guam and we have been like family ever since. This trip was to attend a wedding ceremony for the oldest daughter, “one-chan,” and her husband, Kou-chan. Actually they already got officially married last June but they wanted to save up money to have a ceremony in Guam with their families. I was honored to be invited to this special occasion and we had a wonderful time.
 

We spent four nights and three days on Guam. It is about two hours away from the Philippines—I did not know that! So we were actually surrounded by the Philippine Sea. Pretty cool, eh? Before we left, I was worried because every day was supposed to rain (according to my iPhone weather app). Guam is a tropical island, and like Hawaii, it is humid all year round. I was worried we were going to spend the entire three days cooped up in our hotel rooms instead of out and enjoying the sun, but Guam did not disappoint. The first day was mild but overcast, and, being Japanese, we HAD to go shopping. We took a city shuttle to the outlet mall and K-mart. The “outlet” mall in Guam contains about a dozen stores—and we are talking Ross, Payless Shoe, and some no-name stores that sell Aloha shirts. Not too exciting, although I know how to shop now and was able to find some little treasures at Ross. We ate lunch at the food court. Dad wanted to eat Ramen—I have no idea why when you can get plenty of it in Japan and it is sure to not taste as good as the real thing. Whatever. We ate Taco Bell and Sbarro, two American classics. ;) We then went to K-mart, which we were all excited about because it meant we’d get to buy American snacks, deodorant, and push a giant shopping cart around. The K-mart there (like most K-marts) was pretty beat up and did not have much selection unfortunately. I felt like I had better luck last time I went to Guam, but oh well. I picked up some Gardettos and dried mangos. On the way home it rained hard but by the time we got to our hotel it was sunny again. I think it was also because our hotel was south of the mall area.

That night we went to the barbecue at the hotel, which had live entertainment. They had a bunch of traditional dancers and did a variety of numbers, including ones where they asked the audience to join in and then some where the guys twirl fire on sticks around…you know what I mean? It was really fun and they called One-chan on stage to help with this coconut drum song and then Takkun, the younger brother, to learn how to do the Polynesian-type dance. It was very entertaining and the food was actually pretty good, considering it was a buffet.

The next day was the wedding day! And it was a beautiful day—the sun was out, the water was clear and sparkly. I was very happy about that! We were picked up at our hotel and taken to a chapel nearby for the ceremony. We weren’t allowed to take pictures or videos during the ceremony, but that’s okay because I was able to enjoy it more that way. Before the bride came out, they played a slideshow with their old pictures and a message to their parents (slideshows are a big trend with Asian weddings). The slideshow was very touching and made me teary-eyed! When One-chan came out, she looked like a Disney princess! She was stunning—exactly how a bride should look on her wedding day. And Kou-chan looked like a prince in his light-colored tux. The ceremony was short and sweet, and then we went outside to take pictures before heading to the restaurant for the reception. The reception was wonderful—a perfect view of the light blue water, delicious food, and lots of laughter. We had a great time and headed back to the hotel around 4pm. Then we went to the DFS Duty Free Galleria for some quick shopping (although we didn’t end up buying anything) and then went back to the chapel for a private night concert. It was an interesting group who played Jazz music and even sang Happy Birthday to Takkun (it was actually his birthday that day!). After the concert we ate dinner at a seafood restaurant at the hotel. They were all really excited about the variety of seafood and the huge “American” portions. It is crazy how people who are so tiny can eat so much when given the opportunity! All in all, it was a perfect day.

The next day, we had to go to the airport at 2:30, so we spent the day out at the hotel beach and pool. The water was crystal-clear and we could see tropical fish swimming around our feed as we waded in the water. We finished up some last-minute packing and then headed home. I have tons of memories from the trip and Guam will always hold a special place in my heart because it is where I met the Yamamoto family.

P.S. I forgot to mention that One-chan gave me her bouquet! She said next is my turn! ;)