Posted in Ecuador

We attended the wedding this past Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and quite the party! It was also much more American than Ecuadorian. Kimberly lived for a couple of years in the States with her brother who lives there.

The church ceremony was set for 9:00pm. Most weddings don't begin until then regardless of the time put on the invitation. However, the time on the invitation indicates the formality of dress. The later the time, the more formal the wedding. Nine at night means long gowns for the ladies and tuxes/nice suits for the men. I don't own a long gown and couldn't see buying one for just this occasion. So I wore the street length dress I bought for my niece and nephew's wedding a couple of years ago. It was okay, but I did feel a bit underdressed. It was fun though, seeing all the glitter of the women's fancy dresses and the flash of the faux diamonds.

We arrived at the church at 9:00. The bride began her march down the aisle at 9:30 so we didn't have to wait very long. We had our first clue that it was a more American wedding than Ecuadorian when the maid of honor wasn't wearing red. That is the tradition here regardless of what the bridesmaids are wearing. Peach/Orange is a popular color for bridesmaids (I'd bet that 90% of the weddings I've been to used those colors) and I don't think red goes with Peach/Orange very well. At least the shades I've seen don't look good together usually. Anyway, she had chosen a bright apple green dress with wide magenta sashes. It was so bright and cheery. The maid of honor was in a different dress that was the opposite color scheme, magenta with green. They were gorgeous dresses.

Of course, the bride was beautiful. The ceremony was a bit long (a full hour) and seemed filled with everything that Kimberly had ever seen done and liked. But it was good and I enjoyed it. The reception afterwards was held at the Sheraton Hotel in one of the ballrooms. It was elegantly done.

The food was incredible. We had a buffet of appetizers then had a buffet for the main meal. There was chicken, beef, ham, and fish, with rice and salads. We didn't go hungry! And the desserts! I only had a bite or too because I was just too full.

The music was a mixture of taped stuff with mostly live singing. The singer was very good and she emceed the reception as well. The only surprising thing was that the father of the bride (and pastor of the church we used to go to) danced with his daughter. (very traditionally, Baptists here don't dance-guess times are changing here too!). She then danced with her new husband and court (bridesmaids and groomsmen). Afterwards came the mariachis provided, I think, by a relative who is Mexican. Mariachis are very popular here. I personally love them- but they are so loud! That was fun.

My favorite thing was getting to see and visit with lots of friends I haven't seen in a long time. I wish I had  brought my camera. The only downside to going to a wedding that begins at 9:00 is that it ends really late.  We got home at around 3:30 am and then had to get up to take a volunteer team to church! But it was fun and quite the most elegant wedding I've ever attended.