STELLA & FELIPE'S WEDDING DAY

When I came to Colombia in 2010 with a group from Custer Lutheran Fellowship, Stella was our fearless guide, translator and security guard. A few months ago I received an invitation from Stella and her fiancé Felipe to attend their wedding on June 2, 2012. I knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It proved to be all that and more. For the video summary of the wedding, click here. For the narrative version, read away…

At about 4:30pm a friend of Stella's picked me up and braved Bogotá traffic (always an adventure in itself) as we drove to 'El Redentor,' which means "Redeemer." 'El Redentor' is one of the three main, largest congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia (IELCO) in Bogotá. Pr. Sigifredo of 'El Redentor' (who was the previous bishop of IELCO) presided at the wedding along with Pr. Natanael (uncle of Stella) and Pr. Barbara (wife of Pr. Natanael) who both are pastors of congregations in Sioux Falls. As soon as I arrived at 'El Redentor' I was greeted by a familiar face - Pr. Larry - and I had the rare treat of another fellow English speaker - Pr. Barbara's sister who lives in Decorah, Iowa. In his sermon, Pr. Sigifredo joked about their being lots of blessings since there were not one, but five pastors present!

The service was a little over an hour with a number of songs led by a worship band. Pr. Barbara & Pr. Natanael presided over the vows and the exchanging of the rings. From the church we took a short ride by taxi to the reception. We arrived at the reception around 7:30pm and as soon as the newly married couple arrived they had their first dance, cut the cake right away and shared some words and a toast. Then for the next two and a half hours we danced like I haven't danced in a long time. The DJ (who I'm pretty sure was Sacha Baron Cohen) was a master at creating what seemed to be one seamless song that lasted the entire night. Well, that and there was also whiskey. You can check out the photo album where I'll post the picture of the two nice 'boys' who made sure there was ne'er an empty glass.

After sweating it up on the dance floor until after 10pm, the lights came on and I turned to Pr. Larry and had only this to say: "…and apparently, that's how it's done." Then (yes Chuck, you were correct, even though neither Pr. Larry nor I believed you) and only then, a three-course meal was served. I had the privilege of sitting next to Pr. Sigifredo and Pr. Natanael for the evening and as we were eating dinner at 10:30pm, Pr. Natanael shared with me that the hardest part for him of moving from Colombia to the U.S. many years ago was the fact that dinner was served at five o'clock in the evening!

After a few more words from guests, a bit more dancing and the usual ritual involving all the single ladies and men of marrying age doing some sort of strange ritual involving blindfolds, dancing and the garter to figure out who will be the next to be married (apparently that's a universal ritual) the party finally ended a little before midnight. I was shepherded by taxi back to my home away from home where I enjoyed a pleasant six hours of sleep before a busy day at church.

And apparently, that's how a wedding day is done in Colombia.