How the Kirisame Dynasty Plans Their Royal Weddings

For any royal family, marriages and the children that spawn from them are the only way for a dynasty to continue to reign for the centuries that come. Royal weddings are much more complicated to plan than civilian weddings.

The process begins with the engagement and ends on the actual wedding day.

The Engagement

Like all weddings, they begin with the engagement, and even in the present day, they are usually choreographed and watched by millions. In the days before cameras, sketch artists would need to sketch images of them. The engagement usually takes a couple months before the actual event.

Finding the Location

Most weddings usually take place in a church, but the location of the ceremony can vary. In the Federal Kingdom of Gensokyo before the Meiji Restoration, they were usually held at Saint Mima’s Cathedral in Kozankyo. Nowadays, they are held in Yakumoshi, where the Kozanese Royal Family resides today.

Royal weddings aren’t just big, they’re huge. As a result, it is not uncommon for foreign dignitaries including leaders and representatives to attend these extravagant events. The chapels and churches where the marriages take place aren’t huge and on average only seat around 600-1,000 people.

Sending the Invitations

The invitations are usually sent around two months. They are usually done at the offices of the venue where the wedding will actually take place. The location and city would need to prepare extensively before the big day. Spectators who want a decent view of the processions would end up booking all available hotel rooms. Some of these spectators would travel hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers to see the big event.

These guests could be celebrities or members of charity or military forces, being forced to sit in the nave of the church, where they might not see the actual ceremony. Close friends of the bride and groom would arrive an hour and a half before the ceremony.

Pre-wedding Gala

It has been a tradition for the bride and groom to host a pre-wedding gala a few weeks before the ceremony.

The Ceremony

The actual ceremony begins around 45 minutes before the couple are formally married, with the couple and royal procession, as well as the press, as well as the monarch and consort arriving. The outfits of the couple are usually kept in secret from the time of the engagement until the final reveal. The couple will always be wearing a crown and tiara. The member of the Kirisame Dynasty will always be wearing a gold ring with a ruby jewel, while the incoming member of the royal family wears a silver ring with a sapphire jewel.

The Chief Priest of the Hakurei Shrine conducts the ceremony, and it usually takes an hour. During the exchange of the vows, they are usually required to take an oath as if they are being sworn into public office. This oath goes as follows:

“I, (full name), do solemnly swear that I will faithfully accept (spouse’s full name) as my lawfully wedded husband/wife, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend him/her from all known enemies, both foreign and domestic. So help me God.”

Afterward, the couple enters a private room to sign a register, sanctifying the marriage into law by religious service.

The Parade

After the ceremony, the couple engages in a royal parade in the form of a carriage procession around the city. This is the moment where civilians can get their first in-person glimpse of the royal couple. The concludes with their iconic appearance on the palace’s balcony. A wedding ceremony can’t be thrown out after vows; this element has to be seen live by millions of people.

The Reception

It has been a tradition for the Kirisame Dynasty to host a ball for the newlywed couple, who often performs the opening waltz for all the guests there. After the ball, the honeymoon usually takes place somewhere around the Gensokyo continent. This marks the beginning of a new adventure in the Kirisame Dynasty.