This past weekend was a colorful one marked by a memorable event, the wedding of my brother’s only daughter. Early Saturday morning,my brother gave away his daughter in holy matrimony to the man she had chosen to be her life partner.
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The marriage was solemnized in church followed by the tea ceremony in his home, after which lunch was served.
One of the guests mentioned that it was amazing how our family members seemed to know when to take their seats for the tea ceremony. Ah! He didn’t know that we have had the experience of previous weddings and now have the sequence down pat, right down to the little ones serving the newly married couple tea.
The bride and groom first served their parents followed by the relatives in order of seniority.
Serving the cup of tea and the acceptance of the brew indicated the new-comer’s welcome into the family and the couple were given jewelry and ang pows ( red packets containing money ) as per tradition.
They in turn gave ang pows to the little ones who served them tea.
The wedding dinner, nine- course, was held in a well-known restaurant that same evening and there were more than five hundred guests despite the downpour which we considered as blessings from above.
At the dinner we caught up with old childhood friends and other relatives whom we only see during such auspicious occasions.
The yam sengs ( toasts to the young couple ) were thunderous and my brother made a humorous and touching speech.
The wedding cake was a labour of love by the bride’s mother.
All too soon the merry evening drew to an end and we parted ways with the happy knowledge that in another wedding is on the cards the not too distant future.
