Vanne's Wedding

In December I went to my first Khmer wedding. It was the wedding of one of the teacher's at my school, Vanne, whose younger sister is also my student. She and her husband had met at a church function and dated a number of years (in the traditional Khmer sense...with little time on their own). But they seem perfect for one another. The wedding festivities took place over two days. The church ceremony was held on Friday and the more tradional Khmer celebration on Saturday.

The whole school was invited to the wedding on Friday. Below, you will see me with some of my students.
Here I am with Vanne's sister, Dimang. She is one of my top students; incredibly bright and such a pleasure to have in class! She is also a very talented Khmer dancer. She has trained some of the other students in our school, and they are the ones who always perform at school functions. She was rushing around the wedding ensuring that everything went smoothly, the dedicated younger sister, but found time to snap this photo with me.
The bride and groom enter, followed by their parents.

The ceremony begins. While a Catholic wedding, it was interesting to see how the local culture played into the ceremony, with everyone sitting on the floor and of course, the colorful dress!Below, Vanne and her husband are about to begin the foot-washing ritual.

All in attandance bless the newly-weds by showering them with flowers three times.

The couple thank Sr. Malen (our school director) for coming to the wedding. The couple proceeded to thank everyone, before processing from the church (only to begin preparing for another big day)!