Cultural experience . . .

We attended a full blown traditional Vietnamese wedding & reception yesterday....yes, I say yesterday because it was an all day and into the late evening event. A good friend of Dale's that he works with and also plays pool with was getting married. The wedding was held in Northeast Portland in the biggest Vietnamese church I have ever seen, the service was a Catholic mass, completely spoken in Vietnamese (I understood some parts of the mass being a longtime Catholic girl). Lots of singing, flowers, video, photographs, beautiful traditional gowns, etc. We sort of just sat there in a daze since we had no idea what was being said. That lasted for about 2 hours. Then on to the reception that was held in Southeast Portland at a huge restaurant banquet room. When you walk into the reception, every guest is photographed with the bride and groom. I don't know how they did it..there had to be over 450 people there. Then you were seated for a formal 7 course meal. Appetizer ( scallops, squid, sauteed in onions & cilantro), Soup (crab & fish), Shrimp paste, Quail, Lobster (in some to die for sauce), Oranges/Grapes, some kind of Vietnamese cake that was wonderful. All while being served nonstop champagne, soft drinks, and a traditional tea (with whiskey in it, I thought it was gross, but Dale liked it). They had all the family members come up front to be introduced. Many came from all over the country. Lots of the cutest kids all dressed up running around and having a good time. Then the dancing started with really loud Vietnamese music..and everyone was having a great time, that was our time to exit . . . So here's to our friends Xuyen and Thao wishing you a long and happy life together!!