The "Wedding March" fills the santuary; the bride dressed in a white wedding dress with a train walks down the aisle arm-in-arm with her husband to be, towards the altar; two junior bridesmaids with their hair adorned with flowers follow the couple.
The ceremony proceeds and eventually they exchange vows and then kiss.
As the ceremony concludes the song "My Valentine" is played in English.
After photos and refreshments in the court yard the bride tosses her bouquet to the crowd of single women gathered behind her.
Were I in Canada, this "traditional" wedding service would feel somewhat normal, but sitting on a wooden pew dressed in a traditional Lao silk skirt and shirt attempting not to break into a sweat, I'm puzzled by the sounds and activities that surround me.
How did these wedding practices so familiar in the "West" find their way to the Catholic Church in the Capital City of Laos? Having now been to several Lao Catholic weddings and observed the same rituals, it appears this is how you conduct a Lao Catholic wedding. Sometime during the last 20-25 years, these practices have been adopted, as couples the age of the groom's parents did not have a wedding such as this. I find it fascinating to observe the rituals that cross cultures and how they are adapted in new contexts.
Next week the couple will have a "traditional" Lao wedding, where there will be no white dress, no wedding attendants, no exchanging of vows, and absolutely no kissing.
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