For many brides cutting down the guest list to a manageable size is a very difficult challenge. But not every bride and groom have that problem, especially in Japan where large weddings with a strong show of family friends and coworkers are quite important. For the bride or groom who doesn't have enough friends to invite or whose boss is unavailable that day, there is a service that will provide an entire wedding party guaranteed to make you proud.
Many in Japan see weddings as a formal event that must be attended by as many family members, friends and co-workers as possible. At the party, bosses often give speeches, colleagues or friends stage performances, and families greet other guests.
But what if you've got no one to do that for you?
For 20,000 yen ($200), Office Agents provides a staff member to attend the ceremony. For an additional 5,000 yen, that person can perform a song or a dance. Pitch in another 10,000 yen and that person can make a speech that would make you proud.
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At one wedding, all 30 of the family, friends and coworkers of the groom were fakes, Mizutani said. This was the second marriage for the groom, who wanted to avoid inviting the same guests from the first wedding.
The firm gets about 100 wedding requests per year and has some 1,000 fakes available for various occasions, including funerals and training seminars.
It even offers fake lovers to introduce to your family and stand-in secretaries for those that want to look important.
The key qualification for Office Agents' staff is that they do not stand out.
"What's important is that these are normal people... normal as in they are cheery and clean and look like they have regular jobs," Mizutani said.
What an amazing concept. We assume that you could designate the kind of party guests you wanted: say, one business executive with great oratorical abilities who would sing your praises, three disappointed ex-boyfriends and perhaps some jealous girlfriends who look like supermodels. The company also has fake mourners so that you can impress your friends and confound your enemies even after you're dead.
