Wedding Venue Design in Sapporo, Japan

I just have to share this with everybody.  I’m super duper excited about this project we worked on in Sapporo, Japan where we provided wedding venue design and I want to share the overall looks with you!

Over the past year, I’ve been working with Masuda Planning Company at their Miyanamori Frances Church & wedding venue in Sapporo, Japan.  The project has been nothing short of an amazing cultural experience and I’ve learned so much about Japanese American style weddings.

The way that most venues work in Japan is that a bride selects a site for her ceremony & reception and she gets the design that goes with that location.  Brides get the same design in November as they get in May the following year.  Guest counts and menus change, but the overall look & style does not.  They also rent their wedding gown, formal wear and get all their vendors from the venue.  It’s one stop shopping at the very best and they are very interested in trends in the US.  The term “Happy Wedding” is everywhere, which is so appropriate because the venues take all the stress out of the wedding by providing everything and the bride truly just needs to show up and look beautiful.

We were hired by Mr. Masuda and his team to transform two venues for them.  The Grill which is more like a restaurant style venue with an indoor garden terrace area & the Ancbruge, which is more like an elegant ballroom with an outdoor garden entry and video mapped projection on the entry of the couple.

I went to Sapporo in December 2013 to do an initial site inspection and meet with the floral designers, wedding planners, and executive staff.  This allowed us to get to know their clients and their market segment and discuss the overall space.  I also did a 3-hour seminar on our events and weddings and experienced the best possible hosts – they were so gracious and I had an amazing and wonderful time.  I came home with two months to do the overall designs for both sites. I turned over some options including inspiration board, items for purchase, overall event look, schematics and other details.  We had a few discussions and once we finalized and approved,  I then ordered all the product including linens, napkins, chargers, centerpiece containers, votives, chairs, and decor.  Some were shipped to me and I shipped it to Sapporo on behalf of the company and others were shipped directly to the venue.

In late July 2014, I made another trip to Sapporo.  This was to see the entire vision of the wedding venue design, which was previously only on a piece of paper, come to vivid life.  It was a lot of work to dress the two venues,  train the staff on how to do a more American style place setting using a charger plate, knife, fork, and chopsticks.  We also did an instructional class on American wedding trends and a sales seminar on the overall vision for the design so that they could fully introduce it to their potential brides.  It was a whirlwind 4 days before I returned to the US, but I loved every single minute of this project.

I think that the Japanese wedding industry gets a lot of things right about how they go about working with and servicing their clientele and guests.   I’m always inspired by their willingness to help and learn.  I would love to go back to Sapporo and work with their team.  I’m so excited that so many brides will enjoy our designs for their wedding.  It’s exhilarating to think about how many “Happy Weddings” they will have using our ideas in their venue

Thank you to Masuda Planning Company & the Miyanamori Frances venue staff for so graciously welcoming me to provide their wedding venue design and teaching me so much about the Japanese wedding market.  Also, thank you to Mr. Yoshi Kohara, Director of the Association of Bridal Consultants for the Asian Markets for referring me for this job and working so diligently on all the details.  I have always enjoyed his friendship for over 10 years and value and trust him to work with me on such an amazing opportunity.