Saloon 1, where it all went down!
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting when Linh, a nice staff member who works in the front office of our company (doing sales, essentially), invited my co-workers and me to her wedding. I'd heard tales of Vietnamese drinking, especially rượu cần, or rice wine, so I suppose I expected to see some of that. I did not, although it may have been a part of the smaller, immediate family affair to which I was not privy. I wasn't really sure about Vietnamese wedding traditions and actually spent a fair amount of time questioning other Vietnamese co-workers/researching online to figure out what kind of wedding present I was supposed to bring. In the end I went with money, because I figure you can never go wrong with that, and it seems to be the norm at most weddings. Here is the invitation Linh handed to me one afternoon:
It was beautiful! I tried to find an equally beautiful card to put the money in but was not very successful. I found one that was nice enough but looked a little bit like a drug store birthday card. It had some nice flowers on it, anyway.
The invitation also came with a goody bag full of swag. Most of it were Vietnamese treats that I did not really enjoy.
Google Translate tells me this is "cereal" or "bread crumb". I confess, dear reader, I did not taste test the bright green bread crumb. My bad.
Yep, did try this. Very sweet. Reminded me a little bit of halva, which was very popular in Georgia.
The betel nut, which I did kind of know has a big significance in the Vietnamese wedding and traditions. I remember from visiting the Ethnography museum (pictures to come!) that a lot of people chew on it and in some tribes in the north they use it to blacken their teeth.
These candies were nothing special, just tasted like slightly ineffective cough drops (you know, the kind that are more sugary than actually medicinal). But I loved the packaging.
I still have not drank any of this tea so I can't report on its quality. Again, I liked the packaging most of all.
Pretty cool invitation!
I think the most surprising part of the wedding for me was how quick it was. I did not attend the temple ceremony and only arrived around 7 or so for the reception, which was in a huge hall with a ton of people. All of Linh's work friends were assigned to a couple tables at the side of the room. The food came out within 15 minutes or so of my housemate/co-worker Dan and I arriving and then everyone was getting up to take pictures and leave about an hour later.
Digging in to the lazy susan presented, family-style wedding meal. Lot of delicious vegetables, spring rolls, and almost every kind of meat you could want.
And some I did not. (I see you, shrimp.)
The front stage. Not sure if anything happened with this and maybe Dan and I just arrived late, but we did not see it used as anything but a backdrop. There was a bit of a dance floor towards the stage that also did not seem to get any use. On the right you can see the screen where a slideshow of pictures of Linh and her new hubby was playing on loop.
The hall, and a former co-worker, My. My worked in the teacher's room as part of the administrative staff. She's pretty great although she abandoned us for greener pastures (aka going back to school). Can't really fault her for that.
The place clearing out.
Dan being a jerk.
VERY unfortunate lighting situation, but still, our pictures with Linh. She looked really beautiful. You can see the front table with some gifts and pictures or her and her husband behind us.
Dan and the front office staff in front of the banquet hall.
Dan, My and I ended up going for a beer just because I felt like I had spent time and energy to get dressed up (I even wore heels, I wasn't even in them long enough for my feet to start hurting!) and wanted to do something else before going home and returning to my pajamas. The hall looked lovely, as did Linh and her husband, and the food was great. I think I was mostly just surprised at the efficient and no-nonsense attitude of the actual reception. My best guess is that a lot more happens but that work acquaintances are probably not a part of it. Anyway, it was still a good time and I was thankful Linh invited us!
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