A Oaxaca Wedding - Part 2

The Civil Ceremony and Reception

Following the wedding at the cathedral we walked to the Ethnobotanical Garden for the civil ceremony preceding the reception. The invitation specified an address that was not the normal entrance to the gardens. 

We checked it out the day before and found that it was a new doorway through the wall to the gardens. In the small enclosed courtyard a civil servant (I'll assume he is a judge or something like that) stood before a table with a lovely floral arrangement and many manila folders with papers. The scene was lit by a portable overhead light. The stone walls with climbing cactus were washed with light as well. The crowd waited for all the players to arrive.

The extended message from the judge was somber. We think it spelled out the duties and responsibilities of the newly married couple. No one was cracking a smile. This is serious business. Then the signing began. Each in the wedding party, the newlyweds, their parents and their sponsors had many duplicate pages to sign. Eric and Elsa had to add their fingerprints. 

When the signing was done the group exited through another door presenting the ticket that was included in the invitation in order to pass from the courtyard room through to the garden reception. As we walked along the path we were greeted by small candlelit paper balloons floating into the cloudless Prussian blue sky. All threat of rain had evaporated and the evening was glorious.

The gardens filled with the plants of Mexico added to the enchanted feel of the event. A light show projected on one wall, the band (from Teotitlan del Valle) created another wall and in between were dozens of tables ready for the crowds.

Each table came equipped with a bottle of mezcal etched with the wedding logo. (Elsa works in marketing at Studio Xaquixe, the glass factory where they were made.) Our table's bottle came home with me. Guests at our table included young people from Teotitlan, who did not like mezcal and were not interested in drinking alcohol, and a couple from Austin, TX who preferred beer. Que lastima! Pero una chiripa para mi!

The artistic first course of the meal arrived presented by a fleet of bright young servers. It was a shrimp salad with a cactus paddle and a tortilla chip in the middle. Fabulous. By the time the main course arrived I had forgotten that I wanted to photograph the food. 

After one bite I remembered and snapped a shot of the roast pork with squash and corn. The tastes complemented each other and the pork melted in my mouth. By the time the dessert arrived I had forgotten my camera altogether. Unlike the ubiquitous cakes at US weddings, this dessert was more subtle; a creamy coconut meringue eaten with a spoon. Light and just slightly sweet. 

Curiously, the wedding couple sat at a table alone. Of course they didn't stay there long as each is exuberant and was out among the guests in no time. A couple toasts and then the dancing began. 

The Teotitlan band played traditional music and the wedding couple, and then the parents, and then others moved and shuffled to a jarabe. Soon the dance floor was mobbed with revelers and the party seemed like most wedding receptions with the lookers and the performers.

At one point the bride climbed onto a chair to throw her bouquet. A group of men surrounded her to hold her upright and young women danced in streams around her. She teased them several times and finally tossed the bouquet into the hands of her new sister-in-law Janet (see previous post).

Prizes seemed to part of the wedding tradition here. The women in blue dresses circulated among the guests handing out gifts that were printed with the wedding logo. I scored a pair of flip flops. These were quite useful for the young women who had been dancing in 5-inch heels.

At midnight the Teotitlan band retired and a DJ took over.  The music was loud and we old people were flagging.  Time for us to walk back to our hotel, but the party would go on until 6 am!!!!  -KL

Part 3. The Reception in Teotitlan del Valle.
(To be continued.)

A Oaxacan Wedding - Part 1

A wedding, a joyous occasion, becomes rather rare as one ages. Rarer still is that chance to participate in the customs and rituals of a wedding in a foreign country. Our first notice of the planned marriage of our Oaxacan friends Eric and Elsa came via email with a save the date message. We considered the timing and the cost and decided to go for it.

The event was scheduled for Saturday, April 6, 2013. The ceremony would be at 7 p.m. in la Iglesia de la Soledad (the Basilica of Our Lady of Solitude), a beautiful cathedral in the heart of Oaxaca de Juarez (the capital city of the state of Oaxaca). There would be a reception at the Ethnobotanical Garden and another reception the following day in Teotitlan del Valle, at Eric’s family’s home.

The day was hot and humid. The bridal couple debated whether to rent a tent in case of rain. They decided to chance it and by evening the heat and humidity broke. We walked from our hotel to the public area around the cathedral arriving a little early. The upper level of the park-like area overlooking the entrance to the cathedral was filled with activity; a group of young people were working on traditional dances and a Shakespearean troupe was practicing stage fighting. We turned back to the church and watched as the guests and attendants arrived. It was evident that another wedding was in progress inside the cathedral. This magnificent venue must be in high demand for ceremonies.

The first people to arrive were Eric (the groom) with his brother Omar followed shortly thereafter by their parents Federico and Dolores (Fe y Lola). We waved and photographed the group before coming down to greet them. Janet, Eric’s sister was looking glamorous for the event as were about a dozen other females dressed in aqua blue floor-length dresses of various designs. These were not “bridesmaids” as we have in the US and there were no counterpart “groomsmen.” We concluded they were all relatives or close friends of the bride who were honored for the event and seated together at the ceremony. We called them the "bevy of beauties."

Elsa arrived in the courtyard a little later accompanied by her parents and sponsors. The sponsors play a special role at Mexican weddings, but we did not venture to ask the specific involvement. While people were casually chatting and photographing each other we noticed someone who seemed like a reporter or videographer who was interviewing Elsa. There were many photographers and we could not tell who had been hired for the event or if all were just taking the opportunity to record a beautiful wedding and bride.

Finally, the other ceremony ended and people started gathering at the doorway. From a ways away we surmised that the priest was blessing the couple as they entered the church. People scrambled to the front of the church and so did we.

This was to be an hour-long ceremony with mass. The wedding couple and their witnesses were seated before the alter. To the left a musical group assembled: three violins, a keyboard, and a soloist. The soloist took our breath away with her powerful voice filling the cathedral. The amazing part of her presentation was the fact that while she was singing she was holding a baby; and when the baby began to squirm, she calmly shushed it with a finger on his lips. She didn’t miss a beat. And nearby a toddler looked on, also quite comfortable with her mother’s activities.

Since our Spanish is poor, the ceremony provided time to take in the beauty of the place; the dozens of bouquets of lilies, the ornate alter with the Virgen de Soledad, and the beautiful people in attendance.

As we left the church we were given little bottles of bubbles. We happily blew ours at the newlyweds. As we walked away from the Cathedral I turned and captured this amazing structure beautifully lit on a perfect April evening in Oaxaca. -KL

Part Two. The Civil Ceremony and the Reception.

(to be continued.)