DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mitsuhiro and Junko Yatsuzuka were showered with flowers by friends and relatives as they emerged from the "Place of Joy" chapel yesterday at Ko Olina Resort. They were the 300,000th couple to be married by the Watabe Wedding Corp., which has been coordinating weddings in Hawaii for 30 years.
Love is in the air
for 300,000 weddingsA Japan-based company celebrates
30 years of making arrangements
for newlyweds in Hawaii
Watabe Wedding Corp. marked its 30th anniversary yesterday of giving brides and grooms a Hawaii start on their own wedding anniversaries.
Junko Kishimoto and Mitsuhiro Yatsuzuka were identified by the company as the 300,000th couple and were married at the Ko Olina Chapel in a special Hawaiian wedding ceremony featuring hula dancers.
The Yatsuzukas and their wedding party were then whisked to the governor's office for the presentation of a proclamation and a lei exchange attended by Watabe officials from Japan and Hawaii.
Eleven of the couple's 13 guests were present as Gov. Linda Lingle honored Watabe for the estimated 15,000 weddings it brings to the islands each year. The governor also presented the newlyweds with a commemorative letter of congratulations.
Upon their return to Japan, video of their wedding and ceremony in the governor's office will play on screens in Kansai International Airport.
Watabe Wedding was established 50 years ago as a kimono rental shop in Kyoto, Japan. It has grown into a wedding business with 66 locations worldwide and has operated in Hawaii for 30 years.
A traditional 30th anniversary gift is pearl while the contemporary list says the gift should be diamond. Neither list includes a declaration from a governor.
