Royal Nuptials to Be Lavish--and Japanese

The bride won’t wear white, the music will be by gong rather than organ and heaven forbid any guests pipe up with an objection.

Unlike most young Japanese couples these days, when Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada marry this spring, it will be a solemn--and decidedly Japanese--affair.

Japanese weddings frequently begin with a quick shrine or church ceremony and move on to gaudy receptions notorious for their dry-ice-generated fog, laser light shows and numerous costume-changes for the bride.

But for the multimillion-dollar nuptials of the 32-year-old heir to Japan’s ancient Chrysanthemum Throne, government officials are promising a tasteful though unabashedly lavish approach.