Ceremony

Around 1:15, George and I went to the church. The wedding was supposed to start at 1:00 and here is what it looked like when we arrived… empty!


Very typical for Africa. Things usually run late.

By 2:30, the wedding part arrived. Yay!



They were escorted into the church by the band . How fun!





At last the church was packed and the wedding was ready to begin.



The service was in Swahili, and with George up at the front taking photos, I didn’t understand anything going on. Many things seemed similar to a wedding in the US. Vows, sermon,

Prayer…



Exchange of Rings…



Signing the marriage certificate…



Then the bride and groom spoke, as well as their parents.





There were also performances by a couple different singing groups.



Then around 5:00, the ceremony was over and the new couple was escorted out of the church by the band, bridal party, family members and friends.





There was lots of celebrating and dancing. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood alone, watching. Some people tried to pull me into the dancing and after a minute of joining in, I would duck out. I can’t dance!




Random Photo Alert – there was an odd statue outside the church… not sure what it represents.



Although many things were similar, there are a lot of differences between weddings here and in the US. Here, the groom's family pays a dowry for the bride. That can be money and/or goats and cows. Also, the wedding is paid for by the groom's family instead of the bride's. And the wedding day and reception are very much about the groom and his family. A week before the wedding, the bride's family throw's a "send off" party where they present the bride to the groom. That party is done by the bride and is all about her family.

The ceremony was long, but special and neat to attend even if I didn’t understand everything. Next stop… the reception.