Khmer Wedding.
on Mary In Cambodia (Cambodia), 21/Feb/2010 07:00, 34 days ago
Khmer Wedding. A Khmer Wedding is usually a 5 day event. This long drawn out ceremony involves the couple, their families and very close friends, possibly about 100 people.Day 1. This part of the ceremony often takes place in the bride’s   home. The couple will need 12-16 different matching outfits for this marathon. The Bride’s day begins at 3am, when hairdressers and make-up experts arrive to begin the transformation. 5am the music transmission wakes the neighbourhood. 9am the special guests walk in procession, each carrying a dish of food, usually fruit or cakes. The wedding breakfast follows. A Buddhist monk blesses the couple. Family members then tie pieces of red tape around their wrists, these represent their family bonds. The couple and their immediate families eat after their guests have left. The bride and groom return to their separate homes for that night.Day 2. This is another 3am wake up for the bride, with hours of make-up, hair arranging and dressing. 5am it’s the music wake up call. This is the day for the invited masses. 600/700 is not unusual. A marquee is erected on the street outside the home. The guests begin to arrive at 11am. They’re greeted by the couple, their parents, the bride’s maids and groom’s men. Guests are seated 10 to a table, and the food is served, 8 courses in all.Some food is already cooked, some like‘cow on the hill’ the guests cook at the table. Each person is given a small bowl and chop-sticks and you serve yourself from a communal dish. Scraps, bones, tough bits etc. are thrown on the floor for the dogs. Among the delicacies served are deep fried baby frogs, dried beef, fish on the bone, noodles, and finally soup and rice to sober you up before driving home.      The bride and groom disappear once or twice to change attire. But the entrance is never left unattended. Someone is there to welcome you and to ensure you don’t leave without handing over the all importantenvelope.                                                            . Women come early and leave early. Men come early and leave late. Men and women sit at separate tables. Whiskey is served at the men’s tables only. Only men dance, however after a few drinks they’re likely to grab at any skirt, hence the ladies leave early. Couples rarely attend weddings together, it would entail handing over 2 envelopes containing the required $10 on leaving. You put your name and the amount on the outside before handing it over to the bride’s mother. Female guests are expected to leave inside of 2 hours. Men can stay longer. When everyone has gone, around 3pm the family sit down to eat.Nobody that I have spoken to knows when the couple are actually married, it seems to be sometime during day 2 because they sleep together in the bride’s home for the next 3 nights.On the morning of day 5 they go to the Wat (Buddhist Temple) where a monk removes these bits of red string. Thereby breaking ties with their own families and declaring them an independent family unit. The wedding is over!