Wedding

We went to the wedding of the brother of one of the families in our church.  It was very pretty with draped fabrics set up in the family's yard.

Waiting for the wedding to start.  This precious
lady is Aura, my friend Lesvi's mother.

Girls lined up in their traditional outfits
to watch the bride enter.  These are girls
from our church dance team.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom
stand under a bell-shaped paper form that is
filled with rice.  The parents of the bride and
groom stand on either side of them and
pull strings, breaking the paper on the bottom
and letting the rice fall on the newlyweds
as a blessing.  This seems to be done instead
of throwing rice, like in the United States.

After receiving the rice blessing, the newlyweds
return to the front, and the guests line up to
give gifts and hug the couple.  Then comes
a full meal and wedding cake.