Wedding Part 2- June 26th

With the wedding not starting until 5pm I kind of thought we'd have the whole morning to just hang out at the Phare but the van came at 9:30am to pick up all the girls and take us to the Meridian to get ready.  That actually worked out great for Michelle and I because we knew it wouldn't take us very long to get ready so we packed our suits and enjoyed a fabulous hour lounging at the pool.  We missed a minor disaster when the women who came to do Kate's hair forgot the curling iron they were supposed to bring!  But Kate handled it well and when we came up from the pool I ordered her a mojito from room service. =)  Michelle and I also took care of getting lunch and drinks.  We got a tip from a pilot staying there that there was a little stand just outside the hotel grounds that sold drinks WAY cheaper than the hotel. So I was brave and ventured out on my own to get drinks.  I was very proud of myself because I did the entire thing in French and came back with 5 sodas for $3. =)

The remainder of the afternoon was a flurry of picture taking and trying to stay in the shade as much as possible but still sweating like mad!  We arrived at the church early and just hung out in the air conditioned van for half an hour before the ceremony.  So, since things were not exactly standard American style I'll give you a quick rundown of the wedding itself.

To start the bridesmaids and groomsmen danced in on either side of the aisle (this was the simple dance...just a little side step and snap) and then we turned to face the aisle (still dancing) to welcome the families into the church.  After both families were in our dance changed to a zulu song with some symbolic dance moves that went with it (kind of reminded me of hula...we imitated paddling a boat at one point).  Claude and his mom danced in together all the way down the aisle and then "broke it down" a little once they got to the front; it was very fun and he was obviously very happy.  Oh, did I mention that all the songs were being sung by a choir on stage?  They were amazing!  Then Kate and my dad walked in (while we swayed side to side facing the aisle) and Kate looked incredible!  Her dress was beautiful. 

Once everyone was in things proceeded in a pretty standard western style with some prayers, some readings, and a "message" from one of the pastors (the message had a decent premise but I could have done without this pastor and his tangents).  The choir sang again which was fun.  Oh and there was an emcee for the wedding and he would ad lib things sometimes which was kinda funny.  He got a little mixed up and skipped the lighting of the wedding candle and signing of the register but they just reminded him and things all worked out in the end.  Then once the ceremony was finished, the new Mr & Mrs. Betene danced out of the church followed by both families.

The reception was a little different for me because the wedding party wasn't sitting at the head tables with the families but on chairs behind them (no table).  We had quite a few "jobs" throughout the night including learning two dances on the fly!!  The communication was sketchy and Matt & I often had no idea what we were supposed to be doing and the language barrier didn't help!  Only the families actually had a table and everyone else sat in rows of chairs and were served a plate of food in their seats.  The families were served...by US!!  The guys carried big plates of food and the girls served each person one at a time (all while some of the speeches were happening...fathers, best man, etc)  I felt a little out of sorts the whole time and was glad when the eating part was done and the music started!  The music was fun and Ben, Monica & Esperance(Claude's friends) taught Matt and I some African dance moves.  Then my mom and great aunt Nancy joined the lesson and that got everyone excited and there was a lot of hooting and hollering! =)  Overall a great time!

Congrats to Kate & Claude Betene!

Au Revoir,
-mari