So to ring in the month of March, my co-worker Samath held his giant wedding at this incredible wedding complex on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The complex hosts 10 different 300+ person weddings every night, complete with food and drink and bands and dancing and festivities. Below is a photographic account of the night.
Samath and his wife, in their official wedding photo that greeted people as they entered the complex. Note that their wedding is officially sponsored by Heineken :)
The groom himself, in one of his 4-5 outfits over the course of the evening. He greeted us in a yellow suit, then changed into this red jacket adorned with a giant ruby necklace.
Dinner is the first event of the evening. That's my new colleague Dana in the foreground. Nicole and Sovatha are chowing down in the background.
My best Khmer friend Saingyouth (Youth for short) and I are chillin' at dinner. Youth is presenting his best Godfather pose. I just couldn't hold mine.
Beer was liberally imbibed during and after dinner. Here are some of my colleagues partaking in the post-dinner festivities.
The official wedding ceremony took place that morning, with only family and close friends in attendance. However, the wedding celebration that evening included some ceremonial activities as well, which took place after dinner. First, the bride and groom walked down a row in between all invitees as we all throw flowers on them.
After the flowers, the bride and groom circled the center table on which a 5-tiered cake was resting (it was a Cake Walk!--the significance of this will be lost on anyone who did not attend Westival at Lafayette Elementary School) . They circled the table five times, in part because odd numbers represent good luck.
The bride and groom then stood for a few minutes next to the bride's parents. Check out the Khmer modern-love-ballad band rocking out in the background in front of the pink and red hearts-and-love backdrop!
After the Cake Walk came the sparklers!
And after the sparklers came the silly string!
The bride and groom and cake, all covered in pink silly string!
The groom's friend, a chef at the wedding complex, carrying the Sword of Destiny.
The Sword of Destiny made one cut into each tier of cake.
Finally, the bride and groom opened up two bottles of champagne and poured champagne onto the tower of champagne flutes. The champagne overflowed the first glass and trickled down into the flutes below. The flutes were then passed out among the closest family members, a toast was made and the festivities continued.
After these ceremonies, group circle dancing began and lasted for a few more hours.
Samath and his wife, in their official wedding photo that greeted people as they entered the complex. Note that their wedding is officially sponsored by Heineken :)
The groom himself, in one of his 4-5 outfits over the course of the evening. He greeted us in a yellow suit, then changed into this red jacket adorned with a giant ruby necklace.
Dinner is the first event of the evening. That's my new colleague Dana in the foreground. Nicole and Sovatha are chowing down in the background.
My best Khmer friend Saingyouth (Youth for short) and I are chillin' at dinner. Youth is presenting his best Godfather pose. I just couldn't hold mine.
Beer was liberally imbibed during and after dinner. Here are some of my colleagues partaking in the post-dinner festivities.
The official wedding ceremony took place that morning, with only family and close friends in attendance. However, the wedding celebration that evening included some ceremonial activities as well, which took place after dinner. First, the bride and groom walked down a row in between all invitees as we all throw flowers on them.
After the flowers, the bride and groom circled the center table on which a 5-tiered cake was resting (it was a Cake Walk!--the significance of this will be lost on anyone who did not attend Westival at Lafayette Elementary School) . They circled the table five times, in part because odd numbers represent good luck.
The bride and groom then stood for a few minutes next to the bride's parents. Check out the Khmer modern-love-ballad band rocking out in the background in front of the pink and red hearts-and-love backdrop!
After the Cake Walk came the sparklers!
And after the sparklers came the silly string!
The bride and groom and cake, all covered in pink silly string!
The groom's friend, a chef at the wedding complex, carrying the Sword of Destiny.
The Sword of Destiny made one cut into each tier of cake.
Finally, the bride and groom opened up two bottles of champagne and poured champagne onto the tower of champagne flutes. The champagne overflowed the first glass and trickled down into the flutes below. The flutes were then passed out among the closest family members, a toast was made and the festivities continued.After these ceremonies, group circle dancing began and lasted for a few more hours.
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