A Mexican Wedding

This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to be invited to a wedding here in Mexico. Teo, one of my advanced conversation students, invited Cammie and I to attend his younger brother’s wedding. The event took place in a little pueblo called Santa Cruz Valle del Chalco located in the Estado de México.

Teo was nice enough to pick Cammie and I up and drive us to his house where the reception was held. Once we arrived, we were welcomed by many members of Teo’s family. Then we headed over to the church which was only a few minutes from the house. While we were waiting for the novia (bride) to arrive, we entertained ourselves with various activities such as holding a beautiful newborn baby, talking with Daniel (another student) and his family, and admiring the adorable little flower girls.

When the very young, but gorgeous novia finally arrived, the wedding ceremony commenced. The setup and process was somewhat different from what we are used to in the United States. There were no bridesmaids and no groomsmen. In addition, there were tons of kids running around everywhere during the entire ceremony, a very accepted situation that I found kind of humorous.

The ceremony was quite beautiful, and I enjoyed listening to the prayers and songs in Spanish. It is always neat to hear something you know so well (like “Our Father”) recited in a different language. The church glowed with bright light from the warm rays of the afternoon sun.

At one point in the ceremony, I was reminded of a Greek wedding tradition—the bride and groom wear crowns that are connected by a ribbon that symbolizes the union of the couple. Rather than using crowns, Oscar (novio) and Yadira (novia) were joined together by a glass necklace that was draped over their shoulders. In addition, Yadira’s veil was wrapped around Oscar’s shoulder. I enjoyed seeing this variation of the representation of union in matrimony.

When the ceremony ended, the novia and novio exited the church, and we showered them with rice, flower petals, and confetti.

Then we headed back to the house to get the reception started. The bash was kicked off with a mariachi band playing classic Mexican music as we ate dinner.

At dinner, I happened to sit with two of the sweetest little girls I have ever met. Daniel’s daughters, Isa (7) and Paula (5), were incredibly fun to hang out with and I enjoyed showing Paula how to use my camera.

There was lots of good solid dancing to be had, and we were treated to some great live music thanks to a mother-daughter singing team. Although we did not stay long enough for cake, I really admired the fact that this wedding was such a community event. No one was excluded from the reception and there was even a “Moon Bounce” to entertain all of the little kids. I was told by Teo that the dancing continued into the wee hours of the morning. It was such a treat to be part of this special day.

Click for more pictures!

Abrazos, Nicole