I saw an article posted about this the other day where there is a special tour trip that this travel agency in Japan has where single women can plan their own solo “wedding” experience as a treat for themselves.  It was interesting and sweet and reaction to it has been mixed.

The trip is a two day trip where basically you go out to the travel agency’s office in Kyoto and talk to them about the kind of wedding you want.  You get to choose the type of gown and accessories you’d like to wear, the wedding style, flowers, and so on.  You don’t even *have* to and reportedly this is an option that no woman who’s taken the tour has done, but they can have a male model there posing as a groom for you as well.  You’re not actually getting married or anything and you just get to pose in the pretty gown and get dolled up like a bride does on her actual wedding day and then a photographer takes pictures of you much like how a wedding photographer would capture sweet moments the day of an actual wedding.

For people who have a loving relationship or even are cynical, this might seem like an incredibly strange idea for a vacation package.  Some comments have been along the lines of saying that it’s for women who “give up on love” or that the women who participate are “lonely” among other things, but it actually doesn’t seem to be true.  Weddings themselves have mostly in practice been about the bride and her big day and her dream wedding.  The groom does sometimes take more of an interest in the planning as a more recent trend, but most wedding planning sites are for sure geared more toward the bride’s dream wedding day.  For some women though, they are single by choice because they’re busy and have careers or maybe they’re not single, but have a complicated relationship and don’t want to pressure their significant other into an extravagant ceremony that is costly.  Perhaps if they decide to tie the not, for practicality they would just do a civil ceremony, so the bride would miss out on the traditional pampering of a wedding ceremony.  A trip like this is a great way to give them the experience of feeling that kind of “special” treatment when reality otherwise wouldn’t allow them to have it.

Marriage is also a commitment and significant part of a relationship, but the fancy dress, scenic setting, photos, etc. that are part of a wedding aren’t indicative of the quality of the relationship, so something like this can be a nice treat for someone who doesn’t yet have that quality partner or just has no time to find one.

For me personally, I thought it was a little strange at first, but also really intriguing as an alternative business venture for companies that specialize in parts of wedding planning.  Realistically, why can’t single ladies just treat themselves?  Sometimes the complexities of real life get in the way and we have to make tough choices, so if you can have a special day without burdening your significant other why not go for it?

This particular tour offers accessories and jewelry that you can borrow for your special tour package photo shoot, but if we’re talking a way to treat yourself, why wait for a guy to give you a ring?  There are plenty of designs out there for him to pick a special one that is meaningful to the both of you as a couple if you meet Mr. Right, but part of a healthy relationship is also a certain amount of self-love and self-appreciation so if you’re treating yourself to a little dream trip like this, why not spring for a nice sparkly memento as well?

For whatever your jewelry needs though, deBebians has a wide range of fine jewelry options and really, sometimes it’s nice just to treat yourself and not wait for a loved one to get it for you.