Ceremony - Act I

As you probably know, Carlos is Catholic and I am Jewish.  So when deciding what type of wedding ceremony we wanted, we knew had to incorporate both religions.

The family priest is a bit old.  Carlos wanted a younger, more open priest.  A few recommendations led us to a young Colombian priest.  He was great.  He explained the rules to us, which I found to be very complicated.  He was able to marry a Catholic and a non-Catholic only because the non-Catholic was a foreigner.  If the non-Catholic was Ecuadorian, the church (not the state) would not sanctify the marriage between the non-Catholic and the Catholic.  But that wasn't a problem for us.

My New Favorite Food...

...is homemade chocolate mint ice cream. 

It doesn't take much hands on time or effort or skill to make.  You don't even need an ice cream maker.  You just need lots of patience and about 24 hours.

Here Comes the Groom (and the Bride)

After about half an hour of waiting for the guests to arrive and get situated, the ceremony was about to start.  I was a bit impatient because being sequestered is a bit boring.  I know that people (including Carlos) think it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, but I wanted to socialize.  I mean, I did, a bit, with the people who were waiting in line for the toilet.  But I was ready.

The music started and Carlos began the long circuitous route to the huppah.  It wasn't even actually a huppah, because even with all my explanations the wedding planner/florist still got it wrong.  It was to parallel arches covered with flowers, but they were separate from each other, not attached to form an area.  Anyway, Carlos made his way over there with his parents to one of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Spring.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

We both woke up when we heard the crash.  Was that glass?  Was it a window?  Was it the neighbor?

Actually, neither of us spoke, or even knew the other one was awake.  It was about 1AM, maybe 2AM.  Neither of us even moved.  We were both listening.  I thought that maybe someone had broken in, but there were no other sounds.  Then, moments later there were footsteps upstairs.  Whew.  It was probably just the neighbor.  The baby is about a year old so it's not unusual to hear some noises at night.

But we were wrong.

When we got up this morning, this is what we saw...

Set Up (aka, "What I Didn't See")

When we arrived in Challuabamba, a scout was sent out to make sure that Carlos was no where in sight, then I dashed across the lawn to my hiding place.  I wish I had a moment to take a look at the decor before the wedding, because it looked amazing.  However, I only know that because of the photos...

Ceremony tent/Future dance floor

Showing Off

So I was dressed and ready to go.  It was almost 10:30AM, so our guests had gathered in the lobby to wait for the transport.  And I got to pretend I was Evita on the balcony.

Getting Ready

So, the morning of the wedding I showed up at my parents hotel at around 8AM.  I had breakfast with whoever was eating at that time (I wish that I remembered who, but there was lots to remember that day), and before I knew it I was being pushed towards the shower.

At 9AM the girls for hair and makeup showed up.  I got my makeup done while Mom had her hair done, then we switched.

(Please note the super comfy "Duke Fencing" sweatpants)

How Much Time Do You Need to Train for a 10 Mile Run?

Well, after my week off for working, there was Carnival.  And after Carnival (which I will post about once I get photos from Carlos) I was a bit sick for a few days.  I am now ready to write more about the wedding - but in the next post.  Currently I have a more pressing issue.

No Posts This Week

Why?  Because I need to work.

I'm serious!

I got a small contract (through Carlos) to translate a 25 page document.  In six days.

Friday Night Dinner

I can start writing again since I finally have photos!

As you recall, the gringos started walking to the restaurant from the hotel around 6:45PM.  We arrived at the restaurant at about 7:15PM.  Almost everything was set up.  We chose this restaurant, El Maiz, for the rehearsal dinner because my parents really liked the food and the place was nice.  However, as with everything here, it wasn't perfect.  We had reserved the whole restaurant, but there was a table in the back with two people sitting there eating dinner.  The owner told us that these were friends of her daughter and she couldn't turn them away.  I was so annoyed.  We reminded her that we had reserved the entire place and that there was barely enough room for our group, let alone some strangers.  I mean come on, she could have told them to return the next night.