Mark and I attended a wedding, and since it was our first one in Uruguay, I was excited to compare and contrast traditions.
Our first surprise was that when we arrived at the church, about five minutes before the start of the wedding, everyone was leaving the building. I wondered if we had mixed up the time on the invitation. It's military time here, so I've misread times before. But, the invitation said 18:30, not 6:30am. After waiting for everyone to leave the church, we walked inside and realized others were walking in with us. The people we saw exiting the building were from a different wedding. I assume the families shared the cost of flowers.
Only the bride walked up the aisle to the sound of prerecorded wedding music. The wedding was short, with lots of kisses among family members standing up front along with the bridal party. The bride and groom slowly walked down the aisle smiling for photos, and stood at the entrance to greet the guests.
The second surprise was the excited rush of people who piled up in the back of the church to greet the bride and groom. I was pulled and pressed into the surge of bodies right out the door and down the steps, and totally missed the opportunity to congratulate the couple.
There were a couple hundred in attendance, but the reception, which we did not attend, was quite small.
I've heard negative reports about the state of marriage in Uruguay, so I was thrilled to witness the vows of these young people committed to remaining faithful to each other. Strong families are foundational to a nation's survival. The new couple is welcome to visit their church family at Iglesia Presbyteriana del Uruguay.
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