West African Wedding

A couple of weekends ago we attended our first wedding in West Africa. For the marriage to be considered legal, the couple must have a civil ceremony, which is usually done at the mayor's office.

Many Christian couples also choose to have a religious ceremony so that they can commit their marriage to God. The religious ceremony isn't done at a church, though! It is done in conjunction with the reception at a "party hall," but many church members participate in the celebration.

Many elements of this wedding were similar to an American wedding -- the exchange of vows and rings; the traditional kiss; the "first dance" for the newlyweds; the cutting of the cake; the myriads of pictures with relatives and friends and first cousins twice removed ....

However, there were also some unique elements. For example, when the bride and groom arrived, the church choir welcomed their cars and sang and danced as they marched to the front with their families:

The ladies of the church sang for the couple as they presented them with a very useful gift -- a basin full of cooking pots. Then other people walked forward to present their gifts and special blessings.
After the vows were exchanged, leaders of the church (including Deron) were invited forward to pray over the couple:
Apparently one of the bridesmaids' main responsibilities is to throw confetti on everyone (including the guests as they come through the receiving line). So everyone was covered in "snow."
The fun continues the next day -- weddings are typically on Saturday, and then on Sunday the newlyweds are presented to the church in the regular Sunday morning worship service. They parade in wearing glamorous outfits as the choir sings and dances for them. Then the pastor presents them to the congregation and the couple is allowed to express their thanks and gratitude to the church.

It's pretty cool the way the church is an integral part of the marriage process, and it was really fun for us to participate in the celebration.