My first Guyanese Wedding

Here comes the bride...

I attended a Guyanese wedding on Saturday. I was excited to see what this would be like. We arrived at the church - very few people there, but, we all know Caribbean people can be late. the bridal party came in and created an arch for the bride to walk through which was quite nice.

The bride was stunning - she was beautiful and obviously happy and quite relaxed. The wedding itself was fairly entertaining, and we watched them exchange their vows and of course, kiss.

At the church

What was very interesting is that this church building was new, and they had obviously pulled together to make it possible for the wedding to take place that day - pulling an all-nighter to get the place painted and ready - at least on the inside.

Dance Ministry

There was a dancer and a song or two. What was a little surprising to me was how few people were in the church. I thought, this is quite a small wedding and I began to feel like I was a little out of place in this intimate gathering of family and friends. However, as the afternoon wore on, a few more people entered. Phew. Okay.

After the wedding we drove around for a little knowing that the bridal party was going to take pictures and it was a little while before they would get to the reception. The wedding started at 4p.m., so we gave them a little time and then turned up for the evening's celebration. When we entered the church I noticed two things:

The Reception

1. It was really beautifully decorated
2. It was very empty. A nice big room, lots of tables, few people. 

"Oh no, I thought, what a shame that they were expecting all these people and they didn't turn up."

Well, at least we were there, so I figured... Let's get this party started, right???

And, in entered the bride with her husband! She was so radiant. I was hoping she really was enjoying herself and not just covering up!!!

As time went on, people entered in dribbles and drabbles. Most seemed to come just in time to get dinner. :-) And some just collected their dinners in styrofoam containers!!!!! (Oh yes, these were provided). By the time we were leaving at 10:00p.m. the room was full - and more guests were still arriving!!!

"Why are people coming in so late?" I asked my friend several times throughout the night. She must've been quite annoyed with me for being so dumb. Apparently, this is quite the norm!