2010 Mission Trip to Cambodia
from Stephanie Brooks
WEDDING DAY!!! Two people from the church we have been going to in Phnom Penh got married today! We were so lucky to have the opportunity to experience a Cambodian wedding! We all got our hair and makeup done (something that would cost over $100 in the U.S) for $5! It was the ultimate girl time. The wedding was so much different than what we are used to in the U.S.- it is a full day affair (we only went to the ceremony at 9am and the reception at 6pm) and much more elaborate. The bride and groom changed outfits five times, that we saw, so probably over ten times throughout the day. Everything was so colorful, ornate, and BIG! From the dresses to the hairstyles to the food, everything was bright! The bride and groom were both really shy, so their kiss was very quick and they stood about five feet away from each other. The pastor made them kiss again because it wasn’t good enough! So cute and sweet 🙂

We had a blast at the reception! First we ate, then we danced the night away! Everyone was teaching us Khmer dances and we had so much fun. There were about 370 people there, which apparently is a small wedding in Cambodia. Our jaws dropped… There were so many wonderful people from the church that were at the wedding, so we loved spending time getting to know them better. It was also incredible to see a Christian wedding in a predominately Buddhist country. The two lead pastors of our church, Caesar and Sovann, married them and said such beautiful and encouraging things to the husband and wife to be. I could tell it was so heartfelt and genuine. They said that the first miracle ever performed by Jesus was at a wedding- I had no idea! It was so refreshing to be reminded of the scripture about what marriage means and how love prevails over all things.

We were all just a big bundle of love today! 😉
With love,
Steph