1000 Cranes

A big part of the wedding preparation was the folding of 1000 origami cranes. It is a tradition that started through the story of Sadako. For weddings, the cranes represent good luck and the trust and patience that is takes to have a happy life together. Sachi’s Mom gets most of the credit for folding the cranes, but in the end it was a group effort. This is Sachiko and my Mom in full production.

We hung the cranes in the entry way of the Mount Baker Community Club, where we held the reception. We highly recommend the Mt. Baker Club. This is my Mom telling my brother about the cranes- that’s Sachi’s Mom Arlene in the middle, my brother’s fiancée Shannon, my Dad and niece Jessica (left to right).

The Club has a room that overlooks the ballroom and I’ll never forget arriving at the Club after walking their from our house and secretly seeing everyone waiting for us.

We really wanted everything to be a little different from normal weddings. Aside from Sachi’s off-white dress, there was nothing that was white. We went around and around about the cake and we were really happy with the design. It’s called an off-kilter cake- or as my Dad called it- an earthquake cake. I got one bite.

This is me shakin it with my 87 year-old grandmother, Bama Evelyn. It was great that she came all the her marvel as I show her my best moves. She’s got some moves herself you know. You might also notice the tattoo on my neck- we had little tattoos made with the kanji for “eternity” and everyone had them everywhere. My Dad had one on his neck too, which was a sight.

There is a picture somewhere of my in full-on backspin, but I can't find it at the moment- I promise to post it soon.