When we decided to get married back in 2019. we wanted to do a small courthouse wedding with just Yurie's father as our witness. We were excited to get the official paperwork, and were looking forward to having a ceremony with our friends sometime in 2020-21. But as we all know, the world had different plans for us all in 2020, and so our wedding ideas were postponed. That is until the end of 2023. We just passed our four year anniversary, we went to another house showing that we were going to lose to another boomer flush with cash, and casually we thought "Are we ever going to do a wedding?" And the more we asked ourselves, the more we looked into it, and the more we talked to Yurie's parents, we thought, yes we should do it! But what really sold it to us was when we brought the idea to Yurie's grandmother. When we saw the tears in her eyes, the joy she shared with us, the excitement in her voice, we knew it was time. It was difficult for us to pick between Japan or the U.S, but we feel that we want our loved ones to celebrate with us in Japan for a few reasons. The first is, Yurie was born and raised in Japan. Even though she's now comfortable here in the States, and is an even better shot than Steven at the range, Japan is her home first. Steven is so glad Yurie made the leap to live in the US after graduating school here, and this is a way to thank her family for being so welcoming and loving to Steven and his family. The second is well, you guys! Many of our friends and Steven's family have always expressed how much they would love to go to Japan, and what better time to visit than to celebrate our love. And for la familia Paraguaya don't worry, we'll be sure to incorporate a few Paraguayan details to make this a true multi-cultural experience. We know it's a lot to ask of you, and we appreciate your willingness to join us on this adventure. All of you have been supportive of our love, your friendship means the world to us. We hope to see you there. 2019年に私たちが結婚を決めたとは、友人や家族を含めた結婚式はいつかタイミングの良いときに開催しようと当初は役所へ婚姻届けを提出するのみでした。しかし皆さんもご存知の通り、2020年は世界中にとって予測不可能な出来事が続き、私たちの結婚式開催はどんどんと延期されていきました。 結局2023年の終わりになり私たちは結婚4年の記念日を迎えました。年末の大掃除やお節の準備をしながらふと「結婚式はいつになったら挙げられるのだろう？」と夫婦で話したことをきっかけに遂に結婚式の準備を始めることにしました。 本当に結婚式の開催を確信させた瞬間は、ゆりえの祖母に結婚式開催の話をしたときでした。目に涙がこみ上げながら私たちの結婚式の開催を喜んでくれました。 開催場所として日本かアメリカかのどちらかを選ぶのは難しかったですが、私たちは皆さんと一緒に日本で祝福をしたいと考えています。その理由の一つは、ゆりえが日本で生まれ育ったからです。スティーブンはアメリカに移住をする決断をした私にとても感謝しており、日本での結婚式の開催は私の家族に対する彼なりの感謝の方法でもあります。 二つ目の理由は、アメリカからくる友人や家族のためです。嬉しい事に日本に行ってみたいとよくと言ってくれていたので、結婚式のために訪れるのはいいタイミングではないでしょうか。 今回の結婚式は皆さんにとってあまり慣れない形での開催になってしまうかもしれないですが、この多文化な結婚式に参加して下さることに感謝しています。皆さんにお会いできることを楽しみにしています。