Japan - Temple Life, Wedding Procession #1

Sometimes when one travels he or she is fortunate enough to witness a cultural event, something deep and authentic.  Such was the case when we were walking the grounds of one of the larger temple complexes.  As my son Andrew and I were heading back to the main buildings, I saw this taking shape in the distance and sprinted for a closer look, Big Cahoona in hand.  A large open doorway separated us from what was happening (you can see the threshold panel along the bottom of this cropped-in shot), and just a few moments after snapping a couple of shots a man in a suit stood in the doorway and motioned for me to stop, which I did.  He must have had his work cut out for him, because there were plenty of other gawkers, as you can see in the smaller, less-cropped-in picture below of the same shot. 

This is a wedding procession.  Did not know this, but learned subsequently that the bride, shown here under the red umbrella, is wearing the white head covering in order to hide her horns!  According to the belief of their religion, the female in a relationship is the devil, and the horns come off only after a proper marriage.  I'm supposing that there is a ceremonial "removing of the veil" at some point during the service.

The Big Cahoona's capabilities are certainly showcased here, as even the cropped-in shot at top can, using the proper enlarging techniques in Photoshop, be made into a decent-sized print.