Hooray we are married, let’s go have fun!
PS Thank you for choosing to marry me. I will always be kind, sweet, supportive, creative, patient and close by your side.
Thank-you card / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
thank you card for wedding party, lettering by Ryoko Fujita (now Olson!), design by daveo and Ryoko
Commemorative Postcards / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
Checklist for Party / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
Checklist, various tasks
チェックリスト Checklist
- Make a name badge 名前入りバッジを作る
- Take an insta-photo インスタ写真を撮る
- Sign guest book ゲストブックに署名する
- Play with a goat ヤギと遊ぶ
- Visit pony and pigs ポニーと豚を訪問
- Try various drinks 様々な飲み物を試してください
⃞ 1 ⃞ 2 ⃞ 3 ⃞ 4 ⃞ 5 ⃞ 6 ⃞ 7 ⃞ 8 ⃞ 9
- Have a dance ダンスをする
- Eat food 食べ物を食べる
- Eat more food もっと食べ物を食べる
- Eat cake ケーキを食べる
- Meet a new friend 新しい友達に会う
- Give someone a hug 誰かに抱擁をする
- Say congratulations to D+R 新郎新婦におめでとうを言う
- Receive gift bag (write your name) ギフトバッグを受け取る (あなたの名前を書く)
- Thanks to Mr Kobayashi 小林さん、ありがとう
- Thank the band バンドありがとう
- Post a photo to SNS with #DRO420 SNSに写真を投稿する #DRO420
Prayer Poem / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
Rebirth arrives disguised –
In a floppy straw hat,
Alongside a mountain road stream
~ Love ~
Ryoko & Dave
August 7 2018
Documentation of the honorary Canadian consulate in Osaka / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
What follow is documentation of the Honorary Canadian Consulate in Osaka, located basically in the parking lot of a pre-cut wood shop with lumber imported from BC.
Observed, various:
- I was the first person to sign the guest register this year
- Walls were adorned with newspaper clippings from a decade or so ago
- Signs encouraging “More fish and wood”
- Several beautiful canoes (unused)
- (Somewhat oddly) wooden pig roaster in the lobby
The location, as you likely as assumed considering it’s a lumberyard, is in an industrial park area (photo of street included) and required a variety of transportation schemes to get there including the “new tram”.
While the experience was a little bit surprising (I have a whole riff about the underutilization of consulates and embassies I’ll save for another time), I’m glad it exists as it saved us from a much longer (and more expensive and more hectic trip) to Tokyo.
By the way, the required paperwork was an official affidavit to say that I am free to marry 藤田良子 which we then present at the City Hall on 19th (assuming the certified version arrives by registered mail in due course — update: arrived in Tsuda Lumber Company envelope) to formally register our marriage on April 19th before Shinto ceremony on 20th then party and another ceremony on 21st.
Bon-est Voyaging Mon Cher Amis / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
Wishing safe and happy travels to all day international diplomatic renegades who are bringing their beautiful energy to this pleasant corner of Japan. Also, sending my very finest thanks for all the good wishes coming in from so many wonderful people throughout my life. So grateful you have stuck with me through these turbulent years and are able to witness this life reinvention from wherever you abide.
So much more to say, but the to do list still has many small but important details and my delicate body needs rest to recoil some energy for the next several days of festivities and showing off my new hometown to miraculous pals. In the meanwhile, note that every smoke signal is most welcome, well noted and will be reciprocated in due course.
Yours very fondly and fortunately, daveo/UW
Assortment of printed items in truck on car
Poster Inspiration / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
The poster art for the party was one of the first things on our “we want to have” list for the wedding celebration. We both love music, especially live, and the posters which go along with the gigs.
So we asked the lovely Joanna and huggable Kenji who together have Gamomo Creative (a Chamorro warrior from Guam where Dave used to live for just another connection) to design up something special.
Joanna and I did many projects together at Hootsuite so she is familiar with my “here’s a big crazy idea with vague details, make something magical by reading my mind” way of working and Kenji being hafu-Japanese and an eccentric creative, is also uniquely qualified for input. They also made 2 lovely kiddos! Oh and Kenji is featured in one of my barber round-up posts getting a mullet from guitar hero/barber Rich Hope.
Anyhow, I sent JoBot (coz she’s a robot who designs with love) 6 pages of notes and a folder of “inspiration” – way toooo much of course (i’m a maximalist when it comes to design) and she asked appropriate questions to whittle it down and see what it is i liked about each piece of inspiration.
With this in mind, i’ve compiled various images and notes in a rather stream of consciousness manner to share for-the-record how we collaborated to make something truly special which will be the central design element for the goat farm party.
Worth noting that originally we planned to just us the poster at the party and then in the gift bags but it was so wonderful (not surprisingly but still surprising), we created a number of home-done print runs on various stock to send in announcement dossiers to folks all around the world. About 300 went out in this form and we then pro-printed 150 for giftbags and another 6 BIG versions on foamboard to display at key locations at the party and another rollable 4 for other commemorative purposes. Thanks Joanna and Kenji for your huge hearts and exceptional work.
Notes and images follow
Continue reading Poster Inspiration / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
Guest messages and photo book / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
Of course, we’ll need a guest book and a photo album for the artifacts and sentiments from lovely attendee. In our case, we’ll combine the two (written and photo messages) into one mighty tome with the help of self-service insta-camera (we have 200+ films on the ready!) with snaps added to the book on the spot, then personalized with their written messages.
The book itself is a classic Japanese lacquered artifact, heavy and handbuilt – btw these types of scrapbook are my favourite to make (loads of them usually using recycled board game and calendar paper) – purchased from urban history explorer Jason Vanderhill with assist from Laura Bzowy and hauled over by my kinfolk.
Look forward to settling in on the following Monday to see the photo treats and scribbled missives duly noted by lovely attendees.
Getting Around Okayama / Dave + Ryoko 4-20 Kekkon-shiki
In prep for a barrage of international renegade diplomats descending upon Okayama, I cobbled together another decidedly mediocre video to share a few ways of getting around the city – streetcars, busses, taxis, and bicycles – as well as a finding those said ways and other information about information, ya know for tourists.
Another dispatch coming soon with specifics about getting to shrine (ceremony), resto (fancy lunch) and goat farm (party). In the meantime, please accept my humble offering.
