Waiting....we got there at 9:58am (it started at 10am). Any guesses on when the ceremony actually started??? 12:30!!
We were prepared...a card game for the kids!
Around 11am, we decided to go and get the New Day kids.. :) They were so excited and kept asking, "When will it start? When will he kiss her??
I took this picture mainly for Allison, who would have loved holding this sweet Baby Grace! She is Mulenga's niece, being held by Mulenga's mom.
Teacher Hildah and Mama Joyce dressed to the nines! (what does that even mean??)
Finally! The groomsmen arrive!
OK, I have to admit..when Mulenga came walking up the aisle to take his seat at the front, I got completely choked up! He has been such a part of our family for the past 12 years, and we love him dearly. He has made his share of mistakes but this man has a heart to do what is right, to follow God, and to be an honorable man. Miriam is so blessed to have him!
Here comes our girls - Kelitah was beautiful!
My sweet Cambree - she did great!
Gertrude was the flower girl - she was a little nervous!!
Here comes the bride - escorted by her uncle! Let me stop here and explain that in Zambian culture, the bride does NOT smile or look happy at her wedding. If she did, she would be expressing to her family that she was excited to leave them, so she is expected to not make eye contact and look forlorn!
Abby, the "matron", carried her train down the aisle
A glimpse of the ceremony - it was beautiful!
Ok, at this point they were pronounced husband and wife, and Mulenga raised her veil to kiss her. I was so flustered by the HUGE kiss he gave her that I took a picture of my lap!!! I was so shocked! Blu was going to leave that part out, wondering if it was cultural, but Mulenga insisted it be in the ceremony! (He's seen too many movies.. ;)
They stood up at the front for awhile, while the guests danced their way to the front and gave them hugs. Here is Mulenga's mom wiping away tears
Time to walk out!
There she goes!
The bridal party then went to the Wilcoxes beautiful yard for pictures! So sweet!
Cambree wanted a picture with Uncle Mulenga
Miriam and her girls
Look - Miriam is almost smiling!!
The preacher and the "line dancer"
The bridal party
I'm a little biased, but she's pretty gorgeous ;)
The girls
The goofy groomsmen - all workers at New Day: William, Ian, Patrick, & Barry
They wanted SO many pictures taken! (Oh - do you see Mama Liz??)
Miriam is actually the cousin of Kelitah & Axer!
Hildah & Mulenga have been friends for about 20 years! She had a great time at the wedding!
I love this picture!! You can see how happy Mulenga is!
So happy for them!!
The women
Ok, at this point it was 1:30pm and the reception was supposed to start at 2pm...HOWEVER...nothing had been decorated, and all the people were just sitting there waiting for something to happen. So for the next almost 3 hours, they decorated while everyone just sat, and complained about being hungry, and sat some more.. it was...bizarre? :)
(I gotta speed things up here...gonna be late for church!!) Here is what happened at the reception in a nutshell: The bridal party danced in and out, Mulenga & Miriam danced in and sat, the bridal party danced in (again) and sat, the little girls danced in and sat. Then they did introductions of the bridal party, (there was an emcee and music the whole time), a girl came and did a "knife dance," finally dancing the knife up to Miriam, they cut the cakes, they ate the cake, they danced some more, they did gift presentations, where you walked up to the front, gave your gift, and told everyone what it was, they served rice & chicken, and everyone went home!
I left right after Cambree danced in (I missed the cakes!) so that I could go and do Kids Club. We fed 193 kids - it was insane!! I just didn't feel like I could cancel Kids Club and NOT feed a bunch of hungry kids and tell them about Jesus, while we were having a party, celebrating, and eating cake!
Mulenga dancing with his mom
Mama Liz dancing!
Kalenga crying as Mulenga dances in
Mama Joyce dancing - the kids loved this!
Cambree dancing in :)
The cakes! It was very humid, but they turned out great! Kelsey & Niki baked them, and I decorated. Carolyn made an additional 3 sheet cakes, and ALL of it was eaten!!
The bride and groom dancing in
More dancing...
Mulenga's mom and Lois (yes, my Lois!) dancing. Lois was the "mother" representative for Miriam - she is her aunt.
And that's a wrap - they're hitched and living in The Palace (what the staff has named their new housing area!) I wonder who will be the next wedding at New Day!!??
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