But sometimes this comes at the cost of getting married and starting a family. While some women are perfectly fine with this, others will no doubt feel the occasional pang of regret when they consider that they never had a chance to get all dressed up and be the center of attention for the day like many of their friends and family.
That’s why Kyoto-based company Cerca Travel has set up a service providing all the glamor of a wedding without any of the commitment in what they call a “Solo Wedding.” That’s right: women can now have the full wedding day experience without actually having to get hitched.
A Solo Wedding is a two-day excursion where clients spend the night in a hotel as they go in for dress fittings, bouquet design, hair and make-up, and even a full photo shoot. Each of these services is handled by a professional in the industry and done with the same level of quality and attention to detail as a real wedding ceremony.
When she’s all done up, the tour coordinator will take the solo bride to some beautiful Kyoto backdrops which complement her appearance for a commemorative photo shoot. If wedding dresses aren’t your cup of champagne, Cerca Travel can also set you up with one of the many other historical dress-up tours around Kyoto such as putting on Geisha make-up and clothes. There is also an option to have a decorative man between the ages of 20 and 70 to pose alongside you, but reportedly none of the 10 women who have enjoyed the Solo Wedding experience since Cerca began offering it in June this year have opted to do so, instead focusing on making the day all about them.
Cerca Travel’s website has some testimonies from past solo-brides:
“It really felt like a dream. I didn’t really care about the wedding dress because I was married and had children already.” [divorcee in 50s]
“That was the best!! I feel great! I’m dating a guy but have totally put off the pain that is getting married. I always wanted to wear a wedding dress and I didn’t want to regret it, but I also didn’t want to pester my boyfriend.” [single in 30s]
“Thank you for the other day. My childhood dream came true at 38…! It really was like a dream.” [single in 30s]
There are a variety of packages to choose from, but since the cheapest starts at around 300,000 yen, just like a real wedding this may be something that you’ll only want to do once.
It goes without saying that this vacation is probably not for everyone, as whether this is a glamorous weekend out or depressing reminder of one’s relationship status really just depends on the individual’s state of mind. Ultimately, though, we see nothing wrong with a woman taking a couple of days to be fussed over, and if there’s a company out there willing to do just that, why not do a little (okay, a lot of) selfish spending?
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虽然日本不是性别平等的理想之地，但是它正朝着正确的方向迈出步伐。越来越多的女性放弃了结婚成为全职家庭主妇的传统路线，开拓性的选择终身从业(即使工作环境可能不友好)。
但有时这要以牺牲结婚、无法建立家庭为代价。有些女性可以泰然接受，而对于另一些人，当她们想到没有机会像朋友和家人那样完美打扮成为婚礼焦点时，无疑会感到后悔难过。
这就是为什么位于京都的Cerca旅游公司推出了这项提供所有婚礼的魅力但却没有任何承诺的“单人婚礼”服务。没错：女性现在可以不必结婚就拥有一次完整的婚礼经历了。
单人婚礼是一个为期两天的短途旅行，客户在晚间入住旅馆，在这里，公司会为其适配礼服、设计花束、盘发和化妆，甚至拍摄一套完整的照片。就像真正的婚礼仪式一样，这里的每一项服务都由业内的专家来处理，质量上乘，注重细节。
当新娘准备就绪后，旅游协调员将会带这位单人新娘去京都美景胜地拍摄纪念照。倘若婚纱礼服不是你的菜，Cerca旅游还可以为你另行安排京都许多其他历史装扮，例如艺伎的妆容和服饰。新娘还有一个选择权，即她可以选择一个20-70岁之间的男性象征性的站在旁边拍照。然而据报道，自从今年6月提供这项选择到现在，享受过单人婚礼的10位女性都没有选择这样做，而是选择在这一天专注于自己。
Cerca旅游网站上一些单人新娘的留言：
“这真的感觉像做梦一样。我真的不关心婚纱，因为我曾经结过婚并且已经有了孩子。”
[50多岁的离婚女性]
“这是最好的!我感觉棒极了!我正和一个家伙约会，但是已完全摆脱了要结婚的痛苦。我一直想穿婚纱，我不想后悔，但我也不想让我的男朋友烦恼。”
[30多岁的单身女性]
“谢谢这一天。我儿时的梦想终于在38岁实现了!这真像做梦一样。”
[30多岁的单身女性]
这项服务有多种套餐可供选择，但是由于起价高达30万日元左右，就像真正的婚礼一样，你也许只想经历一次。
不用说，这个假期很可能并不适合所有人，因为这可能是个迷人的周末，也可能令人沮丧地提示着一个人的婚姻状况，这些都取决于个人的心理状态。不过说到底，我们看到的没有错，让一个女人受宠若惊几天，如果有一个公司愿意做到这一点，那么为什么不为自己多花一点(好吧，许多)钱呢?
