The 2 day event started on Saturday. We caught a mini-van from Siem Reap and arrived at the wedding venue 3 hours later. We had lunch waiting for us while the house was set up for dinner later that night. Lunch and dinners consisted of rice and meat – dog, fish, beef, intestines and whatever else you can imagine. I was right in my element ;)
After lunch, Jane (the other volunteer at Helping Hands) and I went to watch the monks pray/bless the couple. This lasted for 45mins and we had no idea what was going on but we had a lot of flowers being thrown at us! Half way through a bunch of Cambodian men started laughing at me and then one of them hit me and pointed to my legs. I was sitting crossed legged which was a big no-no, so they quickly told me to put them to the side. They had a good giggle.
After the blessing we then had a chance to go back to the guest house to freshen up for the photos. The photos were taken in a beautiful golf-like park. Cambodian brides have roughly 8 wedding dresses and as you can see, they are stunning. Over the top Barbie dresses and the huge hair completes the look.
Day 2 started early with the groom and all the guests walking in a procession from his house to the brides house. The guests then delivered gifts of fruit, money and food to the couple. Breakfast was then served. The cutting of the hair then took place, where the bride and groom each cut each others hair as a sign of the past and shredding anything bad from their single lives.
After lunch we had the afternoon off, so Jane and I thought it might be fun to go and get our hair and makeup done ‘Cambodian style’. 4 hours and $4 later we looked like we had just stepped off a movie set. Huge hair that was as hard as a rock, false eyelashes, and a face with so much make up you felt like you were wearing a mask. The ladies at the salon, which by the way was situation in the middle of a meat market smelling of dead fish and cow, absolutely loved us. Being from a small town, they would have not seen many white foreigners, or blonde hair as bright as Jane's!
So, looking all dolled up we headed back to the wedding for the night celebrations to begin. When we arrived all the other 500 guests were there and everyone looked absolutely beautiful. Dinner and drinks took place, then the dancing begun. A stage was set at the front and a band played for 6 hours straight with 4 Cambodian dancers. All the music was Cambodian music – upbeat like salsa. The boys took every opportunity to dance and touch Jane and I, as if we weren’t real. It’s good luck for Cambodians to have foreigners at their weddings, so we were welcomed with open arms. They really do have the most amazing hospitality here, everywhere you go!
After about 4 hours of dancing and drenched in dirt and sand, we headed home for showers and bed. It took a very long time to get all the makeup off our faces. All in all, I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to attend a wedding here. It is an amazing event that is so different to anything I have ever seen.
