The Wedding Party

We got an Invite!

The Invite

Binh is one of the Oxalis Guides and he was getting married, so all of us Cavers, the Oxalis Guides and some of the office staff received an invite to his wedding party for a four O’clock sitting. There were so many of us that Oxalis hired a small bus for the journey to the reception which was about forty minutes’ drive away at a place called Hai Trach.

The Bride and Groom

The venue was a giant marquee beside the river bank and when we arrived it was absolutely full of people and the only place to sit (fortunately, because of the loud (and not always good) singing that’s going on) was right by the entrance door. On arrival we all put our envelopes, containing money into a large model house, while six or seven tables were put together so we could all sit together. The first thing to arrive at the tables was beer, ice and glasses so we started to drink to the happy couple. Then the food started to arrive, a lot of it was raw and on each table there was a sort of cooker/hexamine stove so that you could cook the food yourselves. Every table also got a chicken, a whole cooked chicken which someone had to dismantle, Watto volunteered to do ours.

Watto, preparing for the Chicken

At the same time that all this was happening, as well as the constant background noise from the karaoke, the couple turned up and you shake hands, share food and drink to their health and happiness with them, also various relatives turn up and you drink with them. After about an hour or an hour and a half everything was packed up, photos taken with the couple and you leave. In Vietnam, the main wedding photos of the couple are taken prior to the event and these are then ‘PhotoShopped’ onto various backgrounds of the couples choosing, mostly pretty places that they have never been to.

The Chicken, preparing for Watto

Unfortunately, we weren’t going home, but onto the next venue, which is a karaoke bar. This was dark, damp and seedy and we couldn’t wait to leave, the Vietnamese loved it and stayed much longer!