The wedding was supposed to start at 4pm, on a Saturday evening, but we received a call around 3 o'clock that things were running late, so we took our time getting ready and arrived around 5 pm. But, apparently, things were STILL running late!
It was a pretty nice day at this point ... (it was still light =). This was what we saw when we first arrived at the wedding location. The row of children in blue were school students who formed the first part of the 'aisle' where the bride and groom and their many attendents made their way up to the front of the 'church.'
The wedding was outdoors, at a beautiful property, right along the Caribbean Sea. So after walking around a little bit to see who was there, we spent some time hanging out down by the beach. It was absolutely breathtaking! And here I am, all decked out and enjoying the beautiful beach breezes ... AND the amazing view.
Some of the guys that came along with us from the YWAM base. Steeve and Mike are two of the current DTS students, Patrick has been on staff ever since doing his DTS two years ago, and Ronald (who drove us to the wedding in the base's white bus) is another DTS student. He also participated in a one-year program that Freeman (Terry's brother-in-law) oversees - a program to help disciple young men who've come from rough pasts and need some mentoring and accountability in their lives.
I like this picture, because it makes me look so short! Mike, at 18, is the youngest of our DTS students. He hails from Ontario, Canada, and is a very rambunctious, fun-loving kid. He fits right in with the other 9 Haitians and 1 Tennessean who are also in the school.
The three roommates, Lindsay, Esther, and Laura - enjoying a wonderful evening together.
The happy groom! This was taken BEFORE the wedding ...
And the radiant bride - Ziki
These three young girls were very excited to be part of the wedding celebration ...
And this is why - their young dance partners did a fabulous job of waltzing them down the aisle. I guess they would be considered the junior bridesmaids and groomsmen. But then Ziki and MacKendy also had four couples who were a bit older doing the same thing (including the beautiful dancing), and then two little boys and two little girls who were 'walked' down the aisle by helpful parents, and then ...
Two bridesmaids who looked like BRIDES! They were absolutely beautiful - but thankfully, their beauty did not surpass that of Ziki, so they didn't steal the evening from her =)
But all in all, this procession took more than half an hour! It was completely dark by the time the bride walked down the aisle, and the only way we could see what was happening, was by the fluorescent light of a large spotlight that someone was running around with for the rest of the night. Definitely not the best planning ... It was a shame that things ran so late, because it would have been a beautiful ceremony, if we could have seen what was going on!
Having some bonding time with Stacy, one of our students from the Liberty Academy (and MacKendy's niece). As you can see, it was quite dark by now.
At this point in the ceremony, something was still happening up front, but no one could see what was happening, so they all started chatting with their neighbors, in very animated Creole. Which meant that now we couldn't HEAR what was happening either. So we soon gave up on 'participating' in the ceremony and we just took pictures of each other and talked quietly to each other (in English.)
Carline and Lindsay, looking stunning in the evening light ...
We did manage to see the bride after the ceremony, which in itself was a miracle. We had to push our way through a restless and hungry mob to get there ...
And then, after making a group decision to head home and get something to eat (because we knew that the reception would be a bit chaotic), Ziki and MacKendy found us and begged us to stay ... they REALLY wanted us to be part of their reception, so that they could offer hospitality and a bit to eat before we hit the road.
So we accepted, but soon found ourselves in even more cramped quarters as we were guided into a small cement block building. It couldn't have been much larger than my classroom and there were over a hundred people in there! A hundred restless, hungry, and sweaty people. It soon was so loud in there, that everyone gave up trying to silence the crowd. The best man (Roberteau) presented a beautiful toast that even the bride and groom had to strain to hear. They videotaped the whole thing, but I'm afraid no one will hear him above the noisy chatter...
Once again, after waiting for over half an hour of pictures and stepping on people's toes and smelling each other's sweat and wanting nothing more than fresh air, we tried to leave. But Ziki was insistent. So we quickly grabbed some food, put it in travel boxes, and scooted out the door before we were mobbed (they made us go first, and the hungry crowds were already pushing at our backs as we went through the 'line' at the food table).
I was never so happy to get onto an old rickety bus ...
This is the beautiful table that they had set up in the reception building.
A picture of the couple and close family members. Sadly, the bride and groom were so tired and stressed at this point, that there were no smiles to be seen in most of their pictures.
I definitely was taking notes, for the planning of my own wedding ... mostly notes of things I do NOT want to do. But there were many things that were beautifully planned. They just didn't quite come together in the actual events of the evening.
Please keep this young couple in your prayers. They are expecting a little one soon, and apparently, MacKendy was sick for much of the past week. Not an easy way to jump into married life ...
After everything was said and done that night, Lindsay and I both decided that NOTHING should stress us out when it comes to planning and pulling off our own weddings. As long as we keep things in perspective. If we manage to have a marriage ceremony that is lit well enough for everyone to see what is going on ... If we can pull of a reception that is free of angry mobs, pushing their way to the front of the food line ... then we will be happy brides. =)
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