Wedding bells!

Today I went to a Rwandan ‘pre’ wedding ceremony which was so much fun! I didn’t know either the bride or groom but I was invited by a colleague. An American, my partner in crime for the last two weeks, was also invited but was moving on to another part of Rwanda today for the next 4 weeks so couldn’t go. I decided it was an opportunity not to be missed so put on my prettiest clothes I have with me and off I went for an adventure. There was another colleague going so he helpfully took me along with him. The event was at a house. There were marquees in the garden and chairs in every available space. We arrived about an hour late- by no means the last, and the speeches had begun. There were several more speeches followed by the discussion of the bride price during which the men went out to the choose cows and 2 were brought back into the middle of the ceremony! There was then lots of traditional singing and dancing, then more speeches and finally the arrival of the groom then the bride. There was a short ceremony between the couple then they sat in ‘thrones’ surrounded by their equivalent of bridesmaids and ushers (I think) and various gifts were given to members of each family. The bride looked stunning in a leopard print dress but nearly fell over at one point when she tried to dance! Many of the guests were in traditional dress with beautiful materials. I think the celebrations for the immediate families would continue late into the night after we left.