WEDDING afterparty - one week later!

In Japan it is customary to have an afterparty following the reception. This way one's friends can get in on the fun. Usually the couple's two best friends plan this party, however, we did not want to put the burden on anyone...so we planned it ourselves!

We planned it for 50 people at Bistro Gakuji because it was the most conveniently located place for all our guests. Usually such an all-you-can-drink party lasts only 2 hours, however, we were lucky enough to get an extension...it lasted almost 3 1/2 hours!

At the party we played name bingo - people went around the room collecting names to write on the empty bingo blanks. People drew guests' names from a cloth bag...prizes ranged from a gag gift of tissue to moderate gifts like Japanese sake from Minna no gawa to strange gifts like a bag of new crop brown rice, and the grand prize being a new SILVER iPod!

Shopping for bingo took a lot of time and energy. We had to buy presents from various shops and then wrap them. We used newspaper and recycled wrapping from the wedding gifts we had received. Theme: to your health and environmentally friendly and economical! Of course, the most expensive prize was wrapped to look like trash, hee hee...needless to say, it remained in the pile until the very end.

Appearances can be deceiving, folks!