More Khmer Weddings!...Wedding #3

Wedding #3: Cousin that lives next door

This wedding was different because it fell on my 25th birthday, it was the daughter of the family I'm closest with here and I was sick with a cold. I tried to go to as much as I could, but a wedding here lasts from 5:30am-10pm. This accompanied with over 30 family members crashing at my house was too much for my cold to handle. I hope I did not offend them by cutting out early (6pm). I think all I missed was drunkin dancing and the cake cutting (and final bride and groom outfit!).

The family kept telling me how happy and tired they were. I barely saw them sit still or eat all day. Out of my house and the house next door, over 50 relatives came to stay at our homes the night before the wedding. This does not make for a relaxed atmosphere. Everything needs to be organized for the next day. There were babies crying, gaggles of yeeys (old ladies, whom I love) hitting me and asking me crazy questions, and kids running around in circles. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night, which was great for my cold.

The procession of the groom and the wedding guests started at 6:30am. This time a kid was nice enough to partner with me and I didn't feel so lost.


Grooms Party


Candy dish


The beloved (and fought after) Pig head tray

All of the food for a wedding (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are cooked across the street near the wedding. The crew sets up huge vats of boiling mixtures and carries it over by course. I prefer not to look to closely at this area.




Bridal Party (my cousin is the bride)


Mother and father of the bride

There is a part of the ceremony I had not yet seen: the hair-cutting. Key members of the family go up to the bride and groom, "cut" their hair (not really), sprinkle or spray them with water, and use leaves to douse them with water. There were about 20 family members who did this, (including my parents). They also included the bride and grooms parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. The couple was soaked at the end of it all.





Unfortunately, I had to leave after dinner because I was really sick! If you want to see more after dinner pics, check out previous Khmer wedding posts!