To Have and To Hold

Well, my only sibling got married last Saturday. Yes, poor guy went through with it.
It was a very beautiful wedding that not only married two people, but also married two cultures. He is a Caucasian American and she is Mexican American. There are many cultural issues that I was not aware of for weddings.

Did you know that the groom's family in the Mexican culture pays for all the wedding expenses? I didn't either. What a great idea. That would prove how much he really loves her.

In Mexican culture a wedding is a time to celebrate, so break out the sangria and tortillas as there will be a PARTY!! It is a huge event in the family's life so everyone and their friends are invited. The invitation goes out and they bring visitors to the weddings so it makes it hard to plan and many times there are large elaborate decorations and large elaborate dinners.
So was the case. ( I will post pictures as proof as soon as I get them, but they are in my mom's camera, so who knows how long that will be, hopefully soon).

They had this elaborate canopy that was decorate with lights, ribbon, greenery, icicle lights, and beaded jeweled crystals. The railings on the front of the altar were also decorated with greenery, lights, Christmas tree bulbs, ribbon, and a silver garland that made things just shimmer. They covered the floor with a cotton cloth to look like a snowy winter wonderland.
In the aisles were light strand on each side of the pews all the way up the aisle to light up the aisles, tall vases filled with the crystal jewel strands, a glow stick, and a piece of silver greenery. I had the priviledge of helping decorate for this happy occasion.
The reception place was also decorated. There were supposed to be two receptions, and I decorated for the first one. This one was supposed to be cake and punch. Well, I decorated and got the punch ready in the fountain and had the fountain running. There was no cake to be found. Come to find out, the bride's mom had forgotten to pick up the cake at the store, so there was a reception with no cake, hilarious.

Usually there is a large dinner afterward. The bride's mom owns a restaurant, so they catered it and we had Horchata (a rice milk with vanilla and cinnamon), a "pollo" dish which is interepreted as chicken. Along with the chicken were Mexican rice and refried beans served with tortillas. Nothing like a nice warm tortilla with chicken and beans in it. Yummy!! I had several.

When it was time to depart, of course the groom could not wait and my cousin yelled out "Have fun", much to the embarrassment of my brother, the groom, who stood there red faced.
I had not shed a tear during the whole ceremony, I laughed when the pastor told them that they had kissed long enough, but I could not hold back any longer when it was time to go and he told me that he loved me and thanked me for everything I had done. That was such a special moment that it brings tears to my eyes today, even though they are well on their way to their cruise for their honeymoon.