One of Tokyo’s most common lunch joints is the ramen restaurant. When I first heard of them, I was picturing the dehydrated block of super salty noodles that I used to cook up in high school when my parents were working late.

Luckily, Japan’s ramen is completely different. Like sushi restaurants, ramen restaurants are laid out like a bar, with seats laid out in a U around the cooking area.

Image: brandeating.com

There are what would appear to be a vending machine or ATM in the corner when you walk in. That’s where you order. Since there’s no tipping in Japan, you choose your selection from the menu, insert your money, and it spits out a little ticket. You give that ticket to the chef/waiter, and it tells him what to make you.

For about $7, you can get a bowl of broth with herbs and strips of pork, accompanied by a plate of fresh, chewy, amazing noodles, crispy fried onions, and strips of seaweed. You transfer the noodles, onions, and seaweed to the broth, and let things warm up a bit. Using chopsticks, pick up the goodies and slurp them.

That’s right – slurping at a ramen restaurant is a good thing. It is a sign that you are enjoying the meal, and honestly, it’s about the only way to eat soup with chopsticks. It’s also acceptable to pick up the bowl with your hands at the end and slurp the remaining broth.

I can’t say which ramen restaurants are the best in Tokyo, but there are many. I picked one that had a picture menu, since I wouldn’t have been able to order otherwise. They seem to have expected this, as many restaurants have an easel outside with a picture menu.

If you head to Japan, be sure to stop in a ramen restaurant for lunch. It’s quick, delicious, and cheap. What’s your favorite meal in Tokyo?

Image: efttrends.com

When I arrived in Japan, I was stressed out about if I was supposed to tip the taxi driver, the bellman, and the front desk of the hotel, so I guiltily didn’t. My husband frowned. So imagine my delighted surprise when I learned that tipping is not common or expected in Japan.

Typically waiters, taxi drivers, and other people in service do not expect to be tipped. The thinking is that you are already paying for exceptional service, so you don’t need to tip on top of that.

There are some exceptions, if you really experience above-and-beyond service. If you’d like to tip someone, do it privately. Take the waiter aside and thank them for their service. Don’t be surprised if they refuse your money a couple of times…keep offering it. It’s impolite in Japan to accept a gift without refusing it at least twice, so be sure to keep offering.

Whew! With that cleared up, go take that extra money and buy some green tea KitKats.

An online destination wedding welcome package is a cost-effective way to share crucial details with your guests, give them a way to connect with each other, and build excitement around your big day.

Here’s what to include:

1. Schedule of wedding events – Give guests a heads up about what activities are available to them, including the wedding ceremony itself. Share details about cost and dress code.
2. List of guests and how you know each of them – Make it easier for guests to get to know each other by telling them how they are all connected to you.
3. Destination information – Write up your own travel guide or link guests to information on your destination. Help them get up to speed on the airport, transportation options, and cultural information. Make use of travel blogs, Wikipedia, and the tourist office of your destination to give your guests a complete picture of their upcoming trip.

Get your online destination wedding welcome package ready by the time you send out invitations, which should be several months before the wedding. It doesn’t have to be completed by the invites, but at least have something ready for guests to check out. In the invitation packet, enclose a card with the URL for your welcome package (be in a Facebook page, Google Groups page, free wedding website, or other tool).

When you make updates to the site, be sure to email your guests to let them know of the new information. They are unlikely to remember to check without a prompt from you.

With a little bit of internet research, you can put together a wedding welcome packet that helps guests get ready for the big day, without spending big on branded accessories. And you’ll likely give guests even more info than they would get in a physical package!

Image: japanesestuff.net

That’s right, a post about toilets.

I’ll admit, as an American, I’ve never been big on bidets. I’m not adept enough to use one without taking a sort of mini shower that left me more confused than anything. In the Dominican Republic, I used mine to wash the sand off my feet. I’m sure the maids were quite concerned for my health based on the amount of sand in the bowl each day.

Needless to say, when I got to Japan, I was a bit intimidated by the electronics. I didn’t try any of the buttons in the airport, for fear that I’d get myself into an uncomfortable situation. Only in the comfort of my hotel room did I take a look at the machinery.

And Japanese toilets. Oh my. They are as advanced as my iPhone. Seat warmers, so your tush is never cold. Some play a flushing sound when you sit down, in case you’re a bit shy about tinkling with strangers.

And these bidets! Somehow they’ve made it so that only the necessary areas are washed, in warm water, of course. You can control the water pressure and start and stop it at your convenience. I was half expecting it to tell me the temperature outside (it didn’t).

I’m now going to be one of those weird people who imports a toilet seat and is oddly obsessed with it in my next house. “Hi, welcome to my home! Would you like to see my toilet?”

Image: travelpod.com

I saw one of my biggest pet peeves on my recent trip to Hong Kong – people taking pictures in religious places.

I don’t claim to be super-religious (anymore), but I once was and still have a deep respect for all religions. So one of the things that bothers me the most is when I see people rush into a religious building, take a few pictures, and leave immediately. These are usually the people who don’t bother to dress appropriately, keep their voices down, or give any thought to the people there for worship.

In all fairness, I have taken pictures in religious buildings before (you may remember a Photo Friday in the Costa Rica’s national cathedral.) But in the rare instance when I do take such pictures, I keep the flash off, do it as respectfully as possible, and spend some time appreciating what I’m looking at before I snap a pic.

When I visited the Po Lin monastery in Hong Kong, I was a bit disgusted by the tourists (from many countries, so no stereotyping here) who popped in, glanced around, ignored the signs about not touching the gate, and proceeded to pose in front of the Buddhas while leaning on the aforementioned gate.

In doing so, they missed the magic of the place. I doubt in those few superficial moments that they noticed the offerings of fruit, heard the monks chanting below, or really took in the myriad colors of the interior. They didn’t stop to admire the frescoes on the ceiling or wonder about the significance of the many lanterns strewn about.

They might have the picture, but I have the memory.

Image: greatchiletravel.com

Traveling is no big deal for you and your honey, but for many of your guests, simply getting to and from your destination wedding will be the hardest part. One of the easiest things you can do to calm your guests’ nerves it to prepare them for what they will encounter when they arrive at your destination.

The good news is that this can be lightweight and simple for you to put together, especially if you’ve visited your location before. Follow these simple tips to make Great Aunt Lois rest easier when she mails in her RSVP.

Provide a Play-By-Play

If you’ve been to your destination before, think back to what you experienced when you stepped off the airplane. What did the airport look like? What processes did you have to go through – immigration, customs, health screening, etc? What forms did you fill out? What signs did you follow?

If you take a scouting trip to your destination, play special attention to these things and journal about them as soon as you can. Even simple things like the color of the doors they will go out or the location of the taxi stand will help people feel more comfortable when they arrive.

If possible, include this play-by-play in your welcome packet to guests ahead of time. If you’re not sending a physical packet, email guests or put this on your wedding website ahead of time. Guests may want to print it out and bring it with them for reference.

Connect People on the Same Flight

Even if your guests don’t know each other, they will immediately feel more comfortable if they are in a group of other wedding guests. If you find that multiple people are taking the same flight, introduce them by email or in person a few weeks before the wedding.

Guests may want to change their seats to be closer to one another or share transportation to or from the airport. Help them feel more at ease by sharing a little bit about how you know each guest. If you have pictures of them, preferably ones that include you, attach those to the email so that guests can put a face with a name.

Above all, make the introduction a no-pressure deal. Some guests prefer to manage travel their own way, and don’t want to have the added complexity of a large group. If they don’t want to meet up, no problem! You just want to give them the option.

Suggest US Layovers

Nothing is more bewildering than exiting a plane into a foreign airport and waiting for a connection. Announcements are ringing out in a different language. The airport layout is unfamiliar. It’s difficult to find your gate and to know if your flight is on time.

To help guests avoid this confusion, encourage them to book flights with a layover in the US (or your home country) if possible. Many flights cost the same going through major hubs like Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and New York, as they do going through cities closer to your final destination. Even if your guests have never flown through one of these US hubs, they will at least know the language, the food, and have a sense of comfort about how things work.

Arrange Transportation or Set Expectations

If you’ve got the funds, arranging transportation for your guests from the airport to their hotel or destination is one of the best things you can do at a destination wedding. Guests may not expect this, but it is a nice gesture for anyone who can afford it.

If it’s not in the cards, be very clear with guests about what their transportation options are. Let them know the travel time, the pros and cons, and the cost. Be sure to call out any reservations that need to be made in advance, and what to expect when they arrive.

Give guests a range of options for transportation. Some destination wedding guests may want to save up their money for the trip itself, and will be more adventurous with their options. Other families may opt to pay more for a private car or an English-speaking driver. Give a number of possibilities so that guests can choose what they are most comfortable with.

Bring the Money

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, tell your guests how much money they will need upon arrival and in what currency. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your guests will know what the currency is in your destination. Do these few things to help guests have the right cash at the right time:

• Explain the currency and the current exchange rate
• Tell them how much money they will need at each point of their arrival (Are their fees for the tourist visa? How much will transportation cost? Is tipping expected? Do the bathrooms at the airport charge money? – some do!)
• Suggest places to change money – typically airport money changing stations have very poor exchange rates. Your guests will likely get a better rate buying foreign currency from their local bank or getting cash from an ATM upon arrival
• Lay out some basic info on using credit and debit cards abroad – encourage guests to investigate their foreign transaction fees and let their banks or credit card companies know that they will be traveling so as to not have the card shut off for suspected fraud

In 5 easy steps, you’ve just erased 90% of your guests’ concerns about traveling to your destination. It won’t take you more than a couple of hours to collect this information, but distributing it ahead of time will save you that much time or more answering anxious questions from inexperienced travelers.

Image: pbase.com

With all the options for managing your music online these days, music at your reception is one of the easiest ways to cut costs.  You’re likely choosing a destination wedding in part to save money, and being able to cut down on the number of people serving you will go a long way.  Here are a few tips for keeping that professional feel without spending the money.

Fade the Music Out

Ask a friend or your day-of coordinator to man the sound system for the wedding ceremony.  Do some practice runs so you know the volume you want, and make sure that things are queued up for your volunteer so they’re not searching for the right track.

Since you’ll likely not need an entire song for parts of your ceremony, or one song won’t be long enough, coach your volunteer to fade the music out by slowly turning down the volume rather than simply hitting pause or mute.  This allows the ceremony to continue flowing naturally without drawing attention to the music itself.

Create Playlists in Advance

Make it super easy to know what music should be played when.  Create a playlist for before the ceremony, during the ceremony, the cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing.  Name them appropriately, and order songs as you want them.

There will be so many things going on that day that you’ll want a fool-proof music solution.  Doing this work up front will also allow you to designate anyone to start and stop the music…as long as you tell them the playlist, they should be able to manage from there.

Do a Trial Run

This is the single biggest piece of advice for making sure that music at your destination wedding doesn’t become a source of stress.  As far in advance as possible, set everything up as you plan to on the day of the wedding.  Make sure that all the necessary cables and adaptors are present and working.  Make sure that the music is the right volume and that you know where all the controls are located.

Designate an Emcee

One of the easily-forgotten parts of a musician’s job is to act as the emcee for the evening, informing guests when they are supposed to be moving to a new location, taking their seats, and kicking off the toasts.

So that guests don’t have to guess at these transitions, ask a charismatic guest to take on this role.  An alternative would be for your day-of coordinator to play this role.  Whoever you choose, make sure they are comfortable being the center of attention for a few moments, as all eyes will be on them when they are speaking.

Give them a schedule so they know what time things are supposed to happen, and ask them to keep a watch or phone on them with an alarm so they don’t have to be worried about missing the ideal time to catch guests’ attentions.

Use a Music Subscription Service

Try a monthly music subscription service like Rdio or Spotify that will allow you access to music from anywhere.  Create your desired playlists from their library of songs for a monthly fee rather than paying to purchase and download all the songs you want.  It’s a low-commitment way of getting only the songs you want, organized to your liking, without racking up fees of $1 or more per song!

There you have it! Five easy ways to make your destination wedding music cheap and professional-sounding.  If you do it right, you’ll pay nothing more than the cost of a music subscription service or the cost of downloading your desired songs.

The welcome dinner has quickly become one of the most common events of a destination wedding weekend. For exhausted couples who barely have time for planning the actual wedding, how can you plan another event to wow your guests?  The following steps lay out everything you need to remember to pull off not one, but two, fabulous destination wedding events.

1. Send guests home with a momento

Set up an area for guests to take photos, or better yet, have someone designated as a photographer, complete with tripod.  Design a gorgeous backdrop or use what nature gives you.  Invite guests to strike a pose to remember the evening by.  Either at the wedding or when you get home, share photos with guests and thank them for joining your adventure.

2. Incorporate the local culture

Some brides avoid all cultural aspects in their weddings so as to not appear insincere or inauthentic, but there are plenty of ways to celebrate the culture of your destination.  Consider these ways:

• Invite a local artist to set up shop painting the landscape or the location of your welcome dinner
• Hire professional dancers to give a performance and a lesson for guests
• Hire a chef to give a cooking demonstration with local foods and preparation methods before guests eat those same dishes
• Have a local musician on a native instrument come to play throughout dinner and show guests how to make music of their own

3. Provide transportation

If your welcome dinner isn’t at the hotel where your guests are staying, transportation is going to be their biggest worry.  Arrange things for them, even if they have to foot the bill, and you can expect a much calmer, happier evening.

4. Spend time with each guest

The welcome dinner will be the first time you see some of your guests after they arrive at your destination.  Everyone will want to say hi and give you a hug.  Make sure to personally greet each guest and spend some time catching up.

5. Treat it like an event

No, it’s not your actual destination wedding, but it’s the first event your guests experience with you during the wedding weekend, and it sets the tone for everything to come.  Don’t skimp on the event, even if it’s casual.  Think through the details, the progression of the evening, and get the little stuff right.

6. Set proper expectations

Guests will want to be prepared for your welcome dinner, so help them understand what’s coming.  Give them details ahead of time about the date, time, and location of the event.  Suggest proper attire – no one wants to feel over- or underdressed.  If they need to bring anything in particular, let them know, such as, “On the way back from the dinner, we’ll be passing an area famous for its art. Bring a few dollars if you want to stock up on some souvenirs!”

When you think of what kind of bar to have at your destination wedding, you’re not likely to think about the non-alcoholic drinks…but that doesn’t mean all the kids, pregnant women, and other non-drinkers should be stuck with Diet Coke all night!

To spark your creativity, we’ve collected some fabulous “mocktails” fancy enough to make any guest feel special.  Your teenage guests will love playing grown-up, and your adult guests will love the explosion of amazing flavors in these sparklers.

The best part?  These drinks couldn’t be easier to make.  If you’re headed to a tropical destination, you’re likely to be surrounded by fantastic local fruit.  Be creative in switching in native fruits for the recipes here to up the exotic feeling and lower the costs.

Aside from fruit, you’ll need some bar basics, including ginger ale, sparkling or still lemonade (or make your own!), and soda water.  A few of these recipes also call for a blender, but you could get a similar effect by muddling the ingredients by hand.

And the most important note: don’t forget the presentation.  These drinks nothing without the garnish, fancy glasses, and other little touches.  If you’re going to go, go all out!

White Grape Spritzer

This one couldn’t be easier – simply mix equal parts white grape juice and ginger ale.  Or mix things up with equal parts cranberry juice and ginger ale, with a quick squeeze of lime juice.

Pomegranate Blueberry Mocktail

1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3 oz. pomegranate soda
3 oz. pomegranate juice
2 oz. white grape juice
lemon slices, for garnish

Add blueberries to a tall glass and mash slightly.  Combine pomegranate soda, juice, and white grape juice, and add to glass. Garnish with lemon.

Black Currant Cider Sparkler

This is another drink with a ton of variations.  Instead of the black currant, consider pomegranate, cranberry, white grape, or even orange.

1/4 cup black currant juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups chilled sparkling cider
lemon peels, for garnish

Combine black currant juice and lemon juice.  Add sparkling cider.  Add to glass and garnish with lemon peel.

Blackberry Mint Lemonade

Instead of blackberries, try watermelon, or use pineapple and cinnamon instead of blackberry and mint.

This recipe is the most complicated of all, as it requires you to make an infused simple syrup…but even it is easy to manage and worth the effort!

3 cups water
1 cup sugar
18 mint leaves, torn
2 cups frozen/fresh blackberries
ice
3 mint sprigs
4 cups natural store-bought lemonade
mint sprigs

Instructions

1. Bring the water and sugar to boil in a small pot. Stir the water/sugar mixture until the sugar is dissolved then turn off the heat. Add the torn mint leave and give the pot a stir. Allow the simple syrup to cool.
2. Add the blackberries to a blender. Place a strainer over the mouth of the blender and pour the mint simple syrup into the container. Discard the mint leaves. Blend the simple syrup and the blackberries on low speed for just a few seconds at a time, just enough to break the berries apart but not enough to puree them.
3. Fill a juice pitcher halfway with ice and add the mint sprigs. Pour the lemonade and the blackberry mixture over the ice. Stir the blackberry mint lemonade and add more ice if necessary before serving.

Peach Lemonade Cooler

Don’t have peaches handy?  Tropical fruits are great in this drink, like mango or papaya.

2 medium sized, ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted1/2 cup lemonade
dash of Sprite or sparkling water

Puree the peaches and lemonade in a blender until smooth.  Pour Sprite over ice in a glass and top with puree.

Blueberry Green Tea

Try this recipe with fresh coconut slices at the bottom of the glass – yum!  Try blackberries instead of blueberries if you don’t have them.

1 cups of water
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup blueberries, divided
1/2 lemon
green tea bags
fresh coconut
mint, for garnish

Create a blueberry simple syrup by bringing the water, blueberries, and sugar to a boil.  Stir until the sugar is resolved.  Turn off heat and lightly mash the blueberries to release the juice.  Allow the syrup to cool as it gets infused with blueberry flavor.  Remove blueberries by passing the syrup through a strainer.  Mix in 1/2 cup lemon juice.

Steep green tea as directed.  Mix in syrup.  Add blueberries and coconut slices to bottom of glass, then add ice and tea.  Garnish with mint.

This pink beach wedding cake doesn’t scream “beach,” but that’s exactly the point. It’s tropical, floral, and breezy without whacking you over the head with its beachiness.

Paisley is a super creative way to invoke a sense of movement and water in your beach wedding cake.  The blue teardrops immediately calls water to mind, and the cascading pattern looks both sophisticated and modern. Again, it’s a hint of the beach, not a full-on underwater wonderland.

This cake is all-the-way class.  First, it’s all white, which instantly adds some glam to your wedding.  Second, there are beachy elements to it, though it is still a traditional wedding cake.  Third, seahorses are a little-used idea in beach weddings, making it totally appropriate and still quite unique.

I love the blue ombre on this cake.  Again, the blue makes you think of water, and the white lends itself to puffy clouds or foam as the water meets the sand.  The different sized layers and clean lines are utterly modern, making it the perfect mix between traditional beach wedding and modern glam.

This cake is one of the more overt examples of a beach wedding cake.  My recommendation?  Lose the “sand” (brown sugar” at the bottom and the cluster of seashells up top, and you’re good to go.  The patterned fondant makes you think of waves, and the blue ombre treatment evokes the sea and sky, like the cake above.  A cute late-night snack is sand dollar sugar cookies in brown sugar, as shown right.

Again, another more explicit beach-themed destination wedding cake…but I like this one because it brings in more than just seashells.  The picket fence makes me think of summer at the shore in Assateague, and the Adirondack chairs are a really adorable touch.  If this were my cake, I’d cut back a bit so it’s not so busy…lose a few seashells, maybe.  Overall, a great, less traditional take on the classic beach wedding cake.

Can you tell I like ombre?  Out of the 10 cakes here (and yes, one is my actual wedding cake), I like this the best.  It’s as classy as they come, but it still is very obviously for a beach destination wedding.  Coral, like seahorses, is almost never used in beach wedding decor, making it a great alternative.  The sparse decoration on this cake leaves room for it to breathe, giving it a feeling of elegance.

Wow, this cake is busy!  If you’re looking to make a statement, this is it.  A Hawaiian-themed beach wedding cake is only appropriate in some settings, of course, but if you are hosting a casual beach wedding in, say, Hawaii, this is perfect.  No sand, no seashells, no blue…but still undeniably for a destination wedding.

Though this blue beach wedding cake uses the seashell motif that we’ve avoided for many of these cakes, it ups the ante by incorporating them into the pattern of the cake itself and not simply setting them on each layer or sprinkling them around the foot of the cake.  The cascading sugar shells feel more purposeful and modern this way.

This design is a bit scaled back from the Hawaiian print from earlier, but it’s the same idea. Hibiscus and starfish call the beach to mind, but in a subtle way.

This sculpture…I mean cake…is a complete work of art.  Mosaic tiles repeat a wave pattern, while seashells keep the look from being too stark.  It’s perfect for even the fanciest destination wedding.

This giant mosaic flower, set in blue, hints at a beach wedding without going too far.

This one’s hard to picture, I know…but imagine it in beachy colors.  The mosaic pattern is instantly beach chic, and the flower calls out the tropics.  The curlicues add movement and could represent grass on a sand dune or seaweed swaying in the ocean.  It’s there…it’s just understated.

I hope this proves that a beach wedding cake doesn’t have to beat you over the head with seashells or overdoing the cheese factor.  Do any of these cakes work for you?

Images: coastalweddingsandevents.com, shortnsweet.biz, weddingcakespain.com, weddingbee.com, thewhitelibrary.com, thechocolateswirl.com, andreabricco.com, jayscatering.com, tinabelle’s bakery, Sigi Pablo, Elizabeth Hodes, Pink Cake Box, Sarah Lambersky