Our Wedding Plan

We registered our marriage in Japan, but we agreed to have our wedding ceremony in England some time later this year.

The only thing we’ve decided on is where to have our blessing: in an old church in my husband’s hometown. Apart from it, nothing has to be sorted out, even the date. But we’re planning to do something unusual for an English wedding – he might be doing a DJ and I might be dancing to a flamenco song, although we haven’t decided if we should make it in collaboration. My husband seems to like the idea of me doing some dancing, but he doesn’t want to join me for Sevillanas, so whatever numero I choose, I must go for a solo performance.

My flamenco teacher suggested to me dancing Sevillanas on my own, but I’m not very keen on the idea… In fact, there is a particular numero I’d like to perform for our wedding, which is Guajiras.

I don’t know why but I’m not very fond of Alegrias, which must be the most suitable numero for a festive occasion like a marriage ceremony. Guajiras will, in my mind, rather suit our wedding, because it’s rooted in Cuban folk tradition. My husband lived in Cuba for a certain period of time before, and our first ‘date’, in a sense, was a Cuban music and dance festival in London. More importantly, I like this numero for its elegance and dapperness. As flamenco songs, I’m rather keen on earthy ones such as Bulerias, Solea and Tangos, but for our wedding, I’d like to try this refined tune in an elegant dress.

One of the problems is that I’m not at that level yet… In other words, I haven’t quite learnt how to use a fan (abanico), long shawl (manton) or long-tailed skirt (bata de cola). For Guajiras, however, it’s almost necessary to use one or two of them. I’ve learnt the numero itself before, but at that time we didn’t use such items.

The other problem makes me even more nervous. I’m recklessly trying to choreograph the numero on my own! The choreography I learnt before doesn’t suit any Guajiras CD, but I’d like to dance to a song… I don’t think we can afford to call a live guitarist and singer, so I’ll be dancing to a CD, and if so, I’d have to think up some suitable movements to the particular recording. Hmm… maybe I should just resign myself to solo Sevillanas after all…

All in all, we haven’t decided anything yet. I might have to give up the whole idea of dancing after all…

Another plan I’m thinking about is to prepare home-made snacks to our guests. Maybe it’d be better if we can serve them with a big feast, but if it’s not possible for some reasons, I’d like to cook some light meals for them at least. It depends how many people will actually turn up, though…

Also, I have to think about the dress design as well… Well, let’s see how much or if I can realise these plans!