WEDDING SUNDAY, slightly revised

No, not Mark's... I think he's been put off weddings for life. What a performance! Weddings usually are but this was a performance to rival any wedding I've previously endured.

Today was the Wedding of Judy's brother Dung to his lovely Thuan, to which we were invited even though her father doesn't approve of her relationship with this foreign white giant. However, we were seated with older members of her family and were made to feel very welcome. One of her father's brothers, Uncle Albert (who bears a striking resemblance to General Eisenhower in my opinion), speaks a little English as his company exports abroad and we got on fine with him and his other brothers. His sister, on the other hand, showed no interest in us and she and her haughty daughter avoided making any contact with us at all, but on Judy's mother's side, including her Grandparents who were also seated at our table were more gracious and generally we were shown the friendly interest we usually receive, especially when I began taking photos of everyone.





We weren't present at the actual wedding ceremony, which I think took place in either the Bride's or Groom's family home, with the giving of traditional gifts earlier in the morning. We went over to Judy's family Restaurant at 9.30am to to be taken with other family members by minibus to the Reception in another part of the city. Naturally we had to wait some time for everyone to arrive and didn't get to the Wedding Restaurant till a good two hours later. We'd had no breakfast and had to wait even longer for food!

These special Restaurants cater only for Weddings. This one was quite big, with four separate sections so that four receptions can be going on at the same time and everything is organised with military precision, allowing two hours for each one. As usual, the Bride and Groom stand at the entrance to welcome their guests, which must have numbered several hundred. Naturally they are the stars of the show and have a gruelling two hours performance. When everyone was eventually seated they made their grand entrance, and then came the Cabaret, heralded by an unusually Spanish fanfare of 'Granada' ! A professional compere introduced dancers dressed in traditional red costumes, followed by a young man and a woman, singing no doubt passionate love songs very loudly.



After that it was time for the happy couple to take centre stage and pose for the official photos, pour the champagne, which was red for some reason and accompanied by dry ice to look like smoke, which is a very popular effect in Restaurants, and finally cut the cake. Then while the guests were being served with food they were obliged to visit every table and have their picture and video taken with everyone. I doubt they had time to eat anything.

That's Judy and her mother.



All this time waiting we'd had to make do with peanuts and Beer, not such a good idea on an empty stomach at midday, until the feast was eventually served. I have to say, the food was good if not always to my taste. The first course was Pig's cheek on a large platter, very tasty if you could get any meat off it! As soon as the plate was emptied it was cleared away for the next course, a plate of whole shrimps with lettuce leaves; what we'd call prawns, large and juicy. These were especially good, with a creamy coconut sauce. Then came a dish of beef with carrots and onions served with bread rolls and while I couldn't manage the meat, the veges and gravy were delicious. Most meat here is just chopped into pieces, bones and all to be cooked in a variety of ways and everyone seems to enjoy gnawing on everything but the hardest bones.



Immediately after that the gas stoves appeared. Little did I know, when I bought a small portable gas ring for emergency cooking, how essential they are here in Asia. Every feast requires one for the soup, which is cooked at the table. These soups vary, but are usually mildly spicy and this soup was very good; a variation of fish soup with pineapple, it was simply seafood with clams, octopus and prawns. My favourite! The vegetables added to this one included some large yellow flowers that I've not seen before.



When everything was cleared away we had grapes to finish. Then we were glad to take the remains of our beer and get out into the fresh air as the constant loud music was very wearing.
I started taking pictures of the children and guests and soon they were queing up to be photographed! The men mostly wear white shirts and dark trousers but the ladies dress beautifully. While Judy and other young people favour modern clothes, all the older ladies wear the traditional Ao Dai. This outfit consists of silk trousers and fitted long tunic and comes in many different colours, often with elaborate embroidery and are very beautiful.



I really liked Uncle Albert and Judy's Grandparents. We met Judy's Mother for the first time and seemed to hit it off. Her Father just didn't want to know us, but he's not a happy man and his wife and children have problems with him. Judy was very upset over his behaviour yesterday but soon realised it was due to the stress of the occasion, accepting that it's his problem anyway, not hers.

Soon it was time to return in the minibus with the family, who'd been very quiet on the way there but now for some reason were very merry! (Apart from the Aunt and daughter of course.) Some of the men were keen to show off their limited English and one began to sing a song in English from way back, very nicely. At one point I think we were in danger of being hauled off to a Karaoke Bar, but mercifully the beer kicked in; I fell asleep and maybe they did too.

We were glad to get home and I went to bed for a couple of hours. One reason I was so tired was that last night we were kept awake most of the night by loud traditional music somewhere in the street at the back. We're told that it could be for a death, something like a wake maybe, that goes on for three days and nights. I just hope it doesn't go on tonight as well!