I staggered out of bed around 5am and got ready for the second day of the wedding. Vuth and family appeared in matching purple outfits. The road to the wedding site has become very familiar. I wondered if the Prime Minister knows how bad the roads are in the city as he only drives back and forth from home to his office on wide roads on which all traffic stops until he's reached his destination.
We first of all went to the room where we'd done all the packing of fruit, drinks etc on the cake stands. Oudom and I chose stands loaded with noodles as they'd be lighter to carry. Little Ponleu (9) picked up a stand with cans of fruit so they were a bit heavy for him. The line up down the street had started and about 100 people were already, lined up in pairs, ready for the walk. Meakara, the groom, and his male entourage and family, were lined up in front of the parade with a small band. I stood next to Oudom as we have to stand in matching pairs. Ponleu had to find someone who was carrying the same cans. It's a painful process. The gongs are bashed and off we shuffle. There's always a bottle neck because people at the home have to take the stands from us and bring them into the house. Everything is used during the various wedding ceremonies. For about two hours I sat on the floor watching what was going on. Some of the ceremonies involve only the parents, others have the bride and groom joining them to receive blessings etc; some are fun while others are a bit emotional.
Years ago one of the ceremonies involved couples going up to the bridal couple and tying red string around their wrists. The strings are then blessed with holy water. Then some bright person decided to turn it into a money event and so we tie the string and give money. For some strange reason the couple hold a sword and we slip the money between their fingers and the sword. One good thing is that this money is for the bridal couple and not for the wedding expenses. I decided to be nice and I gave a bigger amount for this event rather than for the dinner at the end of the evening.
One ceremony I enjoy is for people older than the couple and it involves pretending to cut their hair. We go up in pairs and pretend to cut the couple's hair. Then we add a bit of cologne and finally we show them how they look by holding up a mirror. Often people fool around and they squirt perfume on the audience.
We then had the traditional wedding breakfast, which I love. It's a simple porridge made from rice but it has chicken in it with tiny shrimps. We then add bean sprouts and some herbs and, in my case, lots of pepper. Then it's back into the main room for more ceremonies. It's endless, and each time an event ends, the bridal party have to disappear into another room to change into a different coloured outfit or a different style. This was followed by lunch which has a good number of dishes. We were late sitting down so it was hilarious eating and watching workers removing tables and chairs as people finished eating and left to rest for a while. The table tops are circular and removable so tables rolled by all the time. At one point I had to get up so that the carpet could be pulled up.
I was so relieved when I was told we could go home for a rest but, by the time we arrived home, we only had an hour to sit and do nothing before setting off again. This time we went to one of the hundreds of wedding halls in the city. This complex had halls lettered "A" to "J" and each hall can hold over a thousand guests seated at tables plus space for dancing. We got there before anyone had arrived - in fact we sat for over an hour in the room watching the bridal party having their hair done. Some guests came in to have some make up repaired and their hair tidied up - the four or five hairdressers were kept busy. Sokunthea, the bride, has hair down to her waist so it was fascinating watching the hairdresser messing around with it until it disappeared into braids and a large bun. Meakara the groom, just had to have his hair lacquered and a bit of powder applied to any facial blemish.
Cina asked the chefs to feed us first because she was going to be in charge of the accounting. The meal was the usual wedding fare - a variety of cold cuts, cashew nuts and spring rolls, followed by a large fish, noodle dishes with shrimp, a sweet and sour soup, lots of mushrooms etc. The music was blaring out but we'd chosen a table as far away as possible so it wasn't so bad. People started coming around 5pm and they were still arriving around 9pm. At this time of year some of the guests might have been at other weddings so there's a logistical nightmare going on about who in the family goes to which wedding and when to leave to join another party.
After we'd eaten Cina, Vuth and myself moved to the back of the hall to take charge of the accounting which means accepting the envelopes of money from the guests. At an ordinary wedding like this one, people donate around $20 - there are no gifts, just money. As people left the hall they came to our table where a record was made of the person's name and amount. I enjoyed sitting there as I could see everyone coming and going. At times I left the table to visit friends I knew at other tables. People wander around doing "cheers" which means clinking your glass with other friends. The kids ran everywhere; some joined the performers on the stage. The ladies always fascinate me as their dresses are either ground length or as short as they dare be. There's not a single black outfit in sight so it's like a moving rainbow of colour.
Around 8.30pm the bridal couple leave their post, where they've been welcoming all the guests for about four hours, and they go into a room to change into a Western style wedding outfit. Then the bridal walk starts in the dining hall with all of us throwing rose petals and jasmine flowers at them. At the front there's a mountain of fruit, which comes from the cake stands we prepared yesterday. The bride and groom give each other a bit of fruit and walk around the "khmer wedding cake" three times and then the dancing starts. That's the big I enjoy as it's so much fun. People join and leave constantly and we always dance anticlockwise around the wedding cake. It gradually disappears as people take things from it.
Because of being at the money table, we had to wait until everyone had left and then we were able to go home. I think we collected around $10,000 which is enough to pay for the dinner and most of the wedding expenses.
I thought I'd go home and flop but Samnang decided he wanted to spend the night. That meant watching one of those goofy movies on YouTube that only teenagers seem to understand. I don't think it took me very long to fall asleep and thank goodness there's no more weddings on the horizon - fingers crossed
