Here comes the bride...

So I crashed my first wedding. Maybe not technically, since I had actually met the mother of the groom, and my friend called and got permission for me to attend...I really wanted to experience an Ecuadorian wedding, so hopefully that´s not a crime. :)

It was a city wedding, not campo, and not poor, so it was very similar to US weddings. I attended mass (my grandparents will be proud), which few invitees do...most just show up for the party (don´t you sometimes wish that was socially acceptable in the US?). The ¨damas¨, or bridesmaids, were both young, maybe 16, and dressed in knee-length peach cocktail dresses, and the maid of honor was the bride´s younger sister, wearing a red, yes, red, knee-length dress. Interesting. The guys were in normal tuxes. The bride´s dress was similar to US styles, but of the 80s, maybe. Way too many poofs and ruffles for me, and, poor girl, the train fell off when she got to the front. No worries, it was quickly reattached for her. After an hour or so of listening to the priest admonish them to have babies...not 2, but 10 (seriously), they were wed. Then, they took pictures with everyone waiting in the cathedral. It does make it easier to round up family, but still. Then, we blew bubbles on them, and some threw rice (against the priest´s orders) as they walked down the aisle of the church.

At the reception, which was in a nice room in a nearby high school, the bride and groom arrived about 9:15, the padrino (godfather) gave a speech (not too long by Ecua standards), and then they called up all the single girls. I, of course, professed to having a husband for the night. They had them choose numbers and the winners received a little box with a garter in it. I hear that at some receptions the groom puts it on the girl, and the crowd cheers him on to go higher and higher. Yeah, too bad I missed out on that scandal. They called the single guys up and pinned a rose on the lucky winner. The bride´s bouquet went to her sister as a sign of her love and devotion, or something like that. At about 11 we finally got to eat, which was yummy, and then the dancing began. They even had a live singer do a couple of songs. But, with the regaeton and cumbia ringing in my ears from the ginormous speakers in a small room, and the lack of attractive, over-5-foot-tall men, I headed home about 12:30.

Weddings always make me think about marriage...it´s such an odd institution, really. Stuck with the same person for the rest of my life?!? That just doesn´t seem natural. Nor does the idea of having 10 kids. Guess I´ll never be a good Catholic. Did you know that women on birth control aren´t allowed to take communion? Interesting. Anyway, it either takes a lot of guts or naivete to take the plunge of marriage vows. Good luck to all of you who fall into that category. Me, I think I´ll remain single for awhile...