Today we attended the wedding of a former co-worker of mine. Mary Lim married Jimmy Ieng today. I and several other co-workers were invited. Mary and Jimmy are Cambodian and included parts of a Khmer wedding ceremony into their day. Actually it was a combination of traditional and modern elements.
I was fascinated by the whole thing and can’t possibly do it all justice but I’ll try to tell you what happened anyway.
We arrived at Mary’s home shortly before 9AM. We thought the Groom’s processional came first and then breakfast but it turns out its bad luck to go to participate in the ceremonies on an empty stomach. At least that’s what Mary’s aunt told us. It may be true, or she just wanted everyone to eat. We did.
I tried the soup which was kind of like won ton soup with rice. It had shrimp and pork and pieces dumplings and lots of rice and broth. We were also served spring rolls, jerky, a rice/banana thing that was cooked wrapped in seaweed. Very good. There was also sesame balls which were basically fried dough covered in sesame seeds. I didn’t have any of that this time but I remember them from Mary’s graduation party a few years ago. We nibbled a lot trying to sample everything. It was all very good.
Finally it was time for the processional. Jimmy, and his groomsmen got into the car and backed off down the street. The groom’s processional is the arrival of the groom to the bride’s house bearing gifts. In this case friends and family picked up the gifts (mostly fruit) in pairs and assembled in the street. When Jimmy and groomsmen ‘arrived’ they led the group into Mary’s house. The Groom then went upstairs to bring the bride down. According to Mary’s Dad who came by to talk to us, there was some negotiation going on. Finally, Mary and Jimmy arrived in the first of Mary’s dresses for the day. They accepted the gifts and there were lots of photos in various combinations.
Then, believe it or not there was more food. We had lychee nuts and cherries and grapes and moon pie. In the kitchen there were two kinds of noodle dishes that one must assemble. I walked in to the kitchen and picked up a bowl. I must have looked lost (and I was) so Mary’s aunt came to my rescue and helped me put the right things in my dish. Noodles, salad, dried shrimp, and a sauce that I can’t remember the name of but it was very good. I really should have brought a notebook.
Next came the Tea Ceremony which honors the bride and groom’s parents and grandparents. The parents also brought jewelry for the bride and groom to wear. This took quite awhile as Jimmy and Mary chose to honor not only their parents and grandparents but also aunts and uncles and both sets of parents come from very large families. This ceremony had Mary in a different dress too!
After a brief break came the exchange of vows and rings. And a new dress for Mary. This one was a white wedding dress. She looked awesome. Mary’s grandfather performed the ceremony. I have to explain about Mary’s grandfather. He is an adopted grandfather. Actually, grandfather and grandmother sponsored Mary’s parents to emigrate to the US in the 1970’s. The families have remained close. The ceremony was short and very very nice. The bride and groom prepared their own matching vows and I think they did a very nice job.
We’re home now for a few hours. The reception will be at Saigon Maxim in Philadelphia where we will, among other things partake in a 12 course Chinese meal. I need to take a walk first.
Here is a link to some pictures with captions
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