The Wedding Ceremony and Luncheon

Manuel and Jacqueline were married by a local Justice of the Peace with 25 or so friends and family members in attendance. It was a beautiful ceremony translated for me by Alexandria, a friend and co-worker of Manuel's. Both she and her husband, Cristos, not to mention all of Manuel's friends and family, were so welcoming, genuine, kind and helpful to both Becky and I and took great care of us.

While Alexandria could not translate every, single word, she was definitely able to pass along the energy and theme of how Manuel and Jacqueline were headed on a new journey of togetherness and how it would be up to them to work together and share in one another's lives working as a team. It was very moving. I couldn't look over at Manuel's mother as she was crying and then I'd start to cry....OY!

Afterward, just like in the U.S., there was rice throwing and bubble blowing along with a local, log-cutting tradition.

At the luncheon, held at a little, Italian restaurant following the ceremony, I introduced Germans to one of our rituals; that being every time we had clinked a glass with a knife or fork, the bride & groom had to kiss and, of course, I had to teach them the best time to do this was when they had a mouth full of food!