Nicca Wedding

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a Nicaraguan wedding. Very different in style, and exhibition it was interesting to sit in the back and see how this tradition plays out in this country. The décor is very festive.  During the procession the bride and the groom sit in a chair. Why? Well their ceremony is a bit longer than a typical American wedding. This ceremony lasted about 1.5 hours and included many family members going on stage to sing, loud chanting of prayers by the congregates, speeches by multiple pastors and a processional walking. The church comfortably hosts 100 people, however was crowded today with 250 invitees. It was alarming to see how “open” this wedding was. In other words many people would come in and out during the ceremony and walk up and down the isle, go up to the front and take pictures as they pleased—very different. At the end of the wedding the wedding party which included at least 20 kids, walked out of the church and through the village roads to Carazo Christian Academy where the reception would take place.  All in all this was a neat and unexpected experience.

This was taken inside the church during the ceremony.

After the wedding ceremony all of the wedding party and their guests walked down through the streets of Dolores (the village the school is in and where I am staying) to Carazo academy where the reception would take place. Here a girl is leading in front while carrying scripture.

The newly weds! Elka, the bride is the daughter of the maid that cooks and does our laundry at the house. Our maids name is Dona Corina.

Coming out of the church.

Ha I made the mistake of asking these kids to say "Cheese!" Embarrassingly enough I caught myself and was reminded that that is an American thing!

I said, "Sonrisa" (smile) to these two instead. It worked!

Many guests walking down the street.

These girls loved having their pictures taken. This is one of 10 :)

Oh this is my dearest friend Auntie Joyce from England. Her accent is lovely! She is the Ol....WISEST of the volunteers and I am the youngest. We both enjoy examining how the mix of cultures respond to different situations. If you are familiar with personality tests, Auntie Joyce and I have already articulated that she is a beaver and I am a lion :D She is so great.