Imagine you are a bride. At your wedding reception, you visit each table for "candle service." Lighting one on each table you greet guests, all of whom congratulate you, clapping their hands. This would be a scene from an ordinary reception. But what if half the guests are nodding off? Such was my case.

I got married three years ago to a man from Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Kyushu. His hometown is a 11/2-hour drive from Kagoshima city, in the remote countryside bordering Miyazaki Prefecture -- real, deep inaka.

My husband and I were already living together in Tokyo, but we held a wedding reception at his family's request. Since my father-in-law arranged everything, we didn't know exactly what was planned until the day itself.