Mazel-tov!

Last week, our friends Amanda and Jeff finally got married. They've been planning the wedding for several years now, but it finally finished, and they had a beautiful wedding. It was also really nice because a bunch of friends flew in (some from across SA, and some from across the world) and it was so nice to get to see them for a few days.

Christina and Steffan in from the States

Alex and Andy in from the Eastern Cape

One of the interesting things about the whole thing was that it was an orthodox Jewish wedding, which I'd never seen before. There were temple events to go to (where we got to sit and listen to Jeff be honored by reading from the Torah, and then we threw candy at him), there was a chuppah (arch made of lace under which they got married), and through it all there was a bunch of praying. At least that's what I thought it was, 'cause it was all in Hebrew and I didn't understand much. Ok, any. But still, it was interesting to see a culture that I'm not terribly familiar with. Especially cool was the Israeli dancing immediately after the wedding - I thought I was going to throw up after spinning around with Jeff, and I only had to do it for a few minutes - he was in there for nearly half an hour. Intense.

Cute kids aplenty - balloony-loon!!!!!

All-in-all, it was a pleasurable experience, but watching them plan the wedding, and watching Kristen get involved helping with the planning did not really encourage me to want a large wedding. Next time I get married, I'm definitely eloping - parents, you can come with us to the Justice of the Peace or whatever, but we ain't doin' no crazy wedding shenanigans! (I reserve the right to have my mind changed, forcefully).

The ladies look gorgeous...

Bride and groom.

Me, the Scotsman, and the Hasidic dude - can you tell which is which?