Day 66

Today was Karen's niece's wedding here on Boracay. There was a Catholic ceremony in the morning (to honor the bride's family) and a Muslim ceremony in the evening (to honor the grooms family). The bride is Filipina and the groom is half Indian and half Pakistani but the family has been living in London for about twenty years. We were not able to make it to the Catholic ceremony but the Muslim ceremony was quite interesting. It was totally different from Christian or Jewish ceremonies. In fact, the bride isn't present for the whole ceremony. It is only after the ceremony is completed that the bride is invited to come join the wedding party.

There was a reception afterwards and I wish I could have taken pictures of all the people that attended. Everyone was dressed in formal attire with lots of glitz and bling. Some of the dresses were amazing and I saw some of the most beautiful saris I have ever seen. The grooms family was all dressed in traditional India clothing and everything was spectacular. I felt like I was the ugly duckling at a Hollywood premier. The reception was more like what I was used to. A nice dinner was served and speeches and toasts were made. Weddings here are traditionally followed by fireworks and dancing. Because there are so many weddings on the island, I get a fireworks show once or twice a week from my perch up on the hill. This wedding was a very interesting cultural experience.

Tom and Karen in their evening wear. You can't see all the jewels on Karen's dress. This picture does not do it justice. She looked amazing. Tom looked pretty good too.