Celebrating Alone: The Solo Wedding Trend Takes Off In Japan

In Japan, a new trend is emerging where young women are choosing to celebrate "solo weddings," marking significant life events without a groom. The trend, reported by the South China Morning Post, sees women planning and organising their own ceremonies, often wearing beautiful white gowns traditionally associated with weddings.

Celebrating Alone: The Solo Wedding Trend Takes Off in Japan

Mana Sakura, an adult video star, is credited with starting this trend back in March 2019. She put a ring on her own finger during her solo wedding, pledging to cherish and prioritise her own happiness and well-being.

Another woman named Hanaoka spent about 250,000 yen (US$1,600) to host her solo wedding ceremony in a Tokyo restaurant, inviting 30 guests. Hanaoka clarified that marrying herself doesn't mean she's against marrying a man in the future.

Even married women are joining in. In 2018, a 47-year-old named Yukie held her own solo wedding to relive the experience of being a bride. The trend is gaining popularity as fewer Japanese people are getting married, reaching the lowest levels in 90 years. This decline has boosted the "single economy," with solo weddings becoming a new and profitable market for the wedding industry. Services include photo shoots with loved ones and even solo honeymoon packages.

According to a wedding planner in Japan, solo weddings reflect changing attitudes where more women are financially independent and prefer not to conform to traditional roles tied to marriage. This trend has sparked lively discussions online, drawing mixed reactions from people intrigued by the concept of solo weddings and their cultural implications.

Meanwhile, sologamy, the practice of marrying oneself, gained attention in India after Kshama Bindu became the first Indian woman to do so in 2022. Following her, television actor Kanishka Soni also chose to marry herself two months later. The Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev and Diya Aur Baati actor Kanishka took to social media to announce that she was married to herself. Soni shared a picture of herself wearing vermillion and a mangalsutra and wrote in the caption that she was “Married to myself”.

While India has only reported two cases of sologamy so far, the practice has also been trending internationally and there is no shortage of women who decided to celebrate their self-love uniquely. The practice of sologamy is based on self-acceptance and love, but each woman has a different reason for marrying herself.

Women In Sologamy

Kshama Bindu

24-year-old Kshama Bindu always wanted to become a bride but could not imagine being married to someone else, so she decided to marry herself.

Bindu’s decision to marry herself in a small ceremony with friends and family was met with backlash. Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Sunita Shukla said, “such marriages are against Hinduism” and said she would not allow the wedding to take place in a temple.

Bindu had to prepone her wedding and changed the wedding venue to avoid controversies on her wedding day.

Despite facing several hurdles, Bindu ultimately married herself in an intimate ceremony with only 10 of her friends and colleagues present. Bindu’s marriage to herself became the first instance of sologamy in India.

Kanishka Soni

The 35-year-old Kanishka Soni is a television actor that recently took to social media to share that she had married herself. She said she chose to marry herself as she “fulfilled all my dreams on my own & the only person I am in love with is MYSELF”.

Soni added that she did not need any man and that she was happy alone and in solitude with her guitar.

Soni was trolled by netizens for marrying herself and was asked questions about her sex life. She responded that marriage was not about sex and was about love and honesty. Soni added, “It’s better to live alone and love myself than seeking it in outside world when it’s difficult to find.”

Adriana Lima

In 2017, the Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima revealed that she married herself and posted a selfie of herself with the ring. She said that the ring was symbolic to her commitment to herself and her own happiness. Lima said she was married to herself and advised women to love themselves.

A lot of women responded positively to Lima’s post and said her decision was inspiring and that people need to love themselves more.

Alexandra Gill

Alexandra Gill and six of her friends decided to get married to themselves as they planned a bridal gown photoshoot. Gill added that while she decided to marry herself, she was still open to the possibility of getting married to a man in the future. She clarified that she was also happy being single for the rest of her life.

Gill and her business partner Tallulah created the company, Marry Yourself Vancouver which is a wedding planning and consultation service for helps solo brides.

Laura Mesi

41-year-old Italian woman Laura Mesi got married to herself with 70 guests as witnesses and reportedly became the first woman to marry herself in Italy. She decided to have a solo wedding after her long-term relationship came to an end.

Mesi faced criticism and negativity after she posted her solo wedding photos but said that "nothing and no-one can turn off my smile". She celebrated the occassion with a three-tier cake and went on a honeymoon to Egypt.