wedding season

Went to Vegas for my cousin's wedding, the first of 4 weddings that will be celebrated in the family in the next year and half. The rest of the engaged couples took a picture while we were waiting outside the Little Church of the West Chapel as all the aunties and uncles looked at us with this sense of relief and happiness. It was a bit of a miracle we all found out what time to get to the church as rumors abound the previous day to various times and locations. Even the bridemaids didn't know.

I'd never been to a Las Vegas wedding before. Though we did go to one in Reno once. The Little Church of the West is this brown wooden building that looks like it was transported from the prarie. It's one of the top ten chapels in Vegas and they were backlogged. The parking lot was filled with circling limos and cars of all the guests. About 4 other brides and their entourages were waiting outside to be called in. I was half expecting there to be a "now serving number..." neon sign somewhere or maybe give the grooms those electronic pads that vibrate when your turn is up like they have at restaurants.

We waited about an hour outside. It was a good chance to catch up on the gossip around the family. It's also often a time to see what's up with folks. It's such a big family that it's easy to get lost. We usually use it as a way to let the younger cousins know that we're there especially if they need help dealing with their parents. The bride's two younger sisters had both gotten new tattoos. Their mom was not happy, though she didn't mind her brother or husband getting tats. The older of the two got a Japanese lion in full color on her lower back. $250, a steal by tattoo pricing standards. Cheap to get tats in Vegas. She said it didn't hurt, only tickled and she was sober. The other got her last name in alibata down her spine on her upper back. The writing looked good, but the tattoo work wasn't the cleanest I've seen. I'm glad they both got something meaningful to them.

It's about 80% girl cousins on this side of the family. Only a handful now that are younger than 18. The family is growing up fast. The grey hairs adding up even on the youngest of the uncles. We asked where the guy cousin from San Diego was. His sister said that he only had shorts and didn't have clothing for the wedding. We took mental note to tease him later. Did he not know he was going to a wedding? Seemed more like a ploy to hide out at home. Got a couple of guy cousins, one on each side of the family who are on the far side of recluse when it comes to social gatherings. From what I hear, they can be a bit spoiled and ask their parents for money as if it's their money. They're young and a bit entitled. Sometimes making your kids get a job is a good thing.

Lucky enough for us it was cloudy that evening, unlike the 110 degree cloudless days they had had this week. There was a very light sprinkle. Good luck for a wedding. When our turn came up, we all crammed into the pews. It was air conditioned. A woman in the back hit the button to start the video recording from the permanently placed video cameras. There was light elevator music going on in the background during the whole ceremony. On either side of the front were fake candles, about 40 of them in rows to add to the ambience.

The small bridal party came down the line as the groom and his best man (his dad) waited in the front. One pair of sponsors, the groom's foreign exchange parents. Next, the ring bearer, two bridesmaids (my cousin's two sisters), and the maid of honor (my cousin's best friend). Then my cousin who looked wonderful with the baby's breath interwoven in her hair. The groom's face was stunned. It had been a stressful engagement, less than 6 months to plan. They argued constantly even about the decorations for the house reception. They flipped back and forth between being determined and being scared about going through with all of this. But all of that didn't matter anymore, their moment had arrived.

The celebrant was an older gentleman who had a fatherly look to him. This guy was good. You knew he must have done at least 20 weddings this day, but he spoke of rings and commitment and unending devotion like he was saying it just for this wedding.

The entire ceremony took about 15 minutes. For most of my Catholic family it was the shortest wedding they had ever been to. They quickly asked the guests to leave as they took a few more pictures of the new couple. Then the next group was hustled in.

The reception was simple and sweet, an intimate gathering at my uncle's house. Hawaiian Passionfruit and Guava for the wedding cake. Christmas lights and red/yellow/orange streamers from the balacony outside. A G4 iBook set to play iTunes music through a set of speakers.

We sat with the family of my dad's youngest brother who comes more to my mom's side than my dad's side parties. They have 3 kids. The oldest, a senior in high school already. The youngest just started doing Filipino folk dances. We grilled her a bit on who her teacher was and what dances she was doing. We chided her that next time she's going to have to remember the names of the dances she's doing as opposed to "I don't know. The one where your feet move like this." We asked the middle daughter to play violin during the pre-reception for our wedding next year.

Our 16 year old cousin caught the bouquet, which she immediately tried to shove into the maid-of-honor's hands. Engaged people were not allowed in the toss. I have yet to go to a wedding where the women actually want to catch the bouquet. More often than not, I've seen it fall to the ground, or get tossed like a hot potato. The guys don't seem as traumatized by the experience of catching the garter.

After the cake cutting, the new couple gave their thank yous. We insisted the groom say his in French, not so much for us, but for his mother who didn't speak much English. The wedding they said turned out exactly how they had wanted it. Well, even if it hadn't, they were planning another wedding in France this December and a possible double wedding in the Philippines 2006 with her brother who is getting married next year. They're an international couple.

Around 11, we folded up the chairs and made our rounds with the goodbyes to the family. Safe trips home. See you at the next one in October.