June must be the international month for weddings cause there were a lot of them happening over here as well as back home. We were invited to a friend's khootooba or engagement party. I've never been to an engagement party in the States but they like to go all out here. Our friend's family is considered high class so the celebration was massive.
We arrived at 9 pm at her grandparents house and realized we were some of the first ones there. We were told to arrive early so we would have good seats. The back lawn was meticulously landscaped with white tables and chairs overflowing every crevice. There was a stage of sorts near the center of the L shaped yard with long couches designated for the bride and groom. We took our seats just behind the stage area by the swimming pool (yes, even the swimming pool was decorated with flowers).
There were 10-12 white seats placed around every table, which was used more as a coffee table than a dining table. From my seat I could barely reach the table. There was a pitcher of water on the table with a glass for about every 3-4 people (still keeping it African) and a small bowl of candied nuts. Almost immediately after we were seated, we were offered traditional mint tea and cookies.
Guests started filing in about 10pm and the groom arrived at 10:30 pm. The women make this really unique sound for celebrations. It almost resembles the noise children make when pretending to be indians...actually, it's really close to that sound. It takes awhile to get accustomed to hearing.
After the groom arrived, they distributed a fresh drink to everyone. It was a really sweet almond milk drink. I didn't see anyone drink their entire cup -- it was REALLY sweet. Then the couple signed papers, which we think was the religious contract. It seems they sign like 3 contracts here before the marriage is official. Then they went around and greeted all the guests. When our friend came around to greet us, she decided that it was time for everyone to dance so she pulled us onto the "dance floor" where I mostly did the two step because I cannot figure out how to dance like they do here.
There were many more rounds of sweets and caviar, although we missed the fresh juice while we were dancing. We tried to leave at 1 am but our friend wanted us to wait so were didn't manage to leave until 1:30 am, with the party still rocking after we left.
Even though our friends signed papers, they will have a wedding ceremony in December. We're still trying to figure out how all this stuff works here.
Enjoy a few pictures:
We arrived at 9 pm at her grandparents house and realized we were some of the first ones there. We were told to arrive early so we would have good seats. The back lawn was meticulously landscaped with white tables and chairs overflowing every crevice. There was a stage of sorts near the center of the L shaped yard with long couches designated for the bride and groom. We took our seats just behind the stage area by the swimming pool (yes, even the swimming pool was decorated with flowers).
There were 10-12 white seats placed around every table, which was used more as a coffee table than a dining table. From my seat I could barely reach the table. There was a pitcher of water on the table with a glass for about every 3-4 people (still keeping it African) and a small bowl of candied nuts. Almost immediately after we were seated, we were offered traditional mint tea and cookies.
Guests started filing in about 10pm and the groom arrived at 10:30 pm. The women make this really unique sound for celebrations. It almost resembles the noise children make when pretending to be indians...actually, it's really close to that sound. It takes awhile to get accustomed to hearing.
After the groom arrived, they distributed a fresh drink to everyone. It was a really sweet almond milk drink. I didn't see anyone drink their entire cup -- it was REALLY sweet. Then the couple signed papers, which we think was the religious contract. It seems they sign like 3 contracts here before the marriage is official. Then they went around and greeted all the guests. When our friend came around to greet us, she decided that it was time for everyone to dance so she pulled us onto the "dance floor" where I mostly did the two step because I cannot figure out how to dance like they do here.
There were many more rounds of sweets and caviar, although we missed the fresh juice while we were dancing. We tried to leave at 1 am but our friend wanted us to wait so were didn't manage to leave until 1:30 am, with the party still rocking after we left.
Even though our friends signed papers, they will have a wedding ceremony in December. We're still trying to figure out how all this stuff works here.
Enjoy a few pictures:
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| All dolled up |
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| The groom makes his entrance |
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| The sweet couple! |
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