Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Jorgen and Darlyn's Wedding - Part 2

After the short wedding ceremony I headed off with the bridal party in the wedding car (a van from LCM) to do the photos. We went to the garden at the top house because the views there are second to none. Lots of other smartphone photographers came too :) Hendry, one of Jorgen's buddies, got married in December, so he helped out by making sure the bridal party could understand my broken pidgin. That was very helpful!! After the photos were done we headed back down the hill to the kitchen where the LCM boys have their dinner each night. Again, it was beautifully decorated and there were lots of chairs set out, with tables for the bridal party and direct family. The rest of the guests scattered themselves on underneath the trees and on the grassy areas close by.

After a short introduction by the MC, everyone was invited to share a meal. While explaining the process, the MC kept reminding everyone 'em wanpela celebration kaikai, noken pulap' which made me laugh. It means 'this is food for celebration, you don't need to fill up', which made clear that people didn't need to eat huge amounts or take a mountainous plate (which would have happened otherwise).

There was so much delicious food. It was cooked in the traditional way and the boys who prepared it had been working since 5:00am to make sure everything was ready! There was chicken, rice, potatoes, salad, vegetables and more. They did an incredible job! The food was followed by some speeches and the cutting of the cake. It was a relatively short reception compared to Western standards (about an hour), but equally as festive and equally as beautiful. All in all it was a wonderful celebration of a young couple in love, who desire to put God first in their marriage. What a blessing it is to see that. I pray that these two stay faithful to God in their lives as husband and wife.

I really enjoyed photographing the day - here's a few more pictures to get a glimpse into what it was like.


Jorgen and his buddy Patrick


A close up of the bride and one of her friends


This is one of my favourite shots of the day. 


A photo with the newly married couple. I wore my traditional clothes for the wedding as you can see :)


Jorgen had a t-shirt on under his white shirt. I could see it slightly so I asked him what it was and this is what he showed me. I love it! So true and awesome to see men of PNG standing up against the domestic violence that happens so frequently here. 


A bridesmaid bouquet


People waving small branches so the food doesn't get spoiled by flies


Some of the many, many guests! There would have been over 300 people who attended the wedding. It was unreal!


The servers organising the food. There were three different places to collect food and the guests were asked to go to separate areas. One area for the bridal party and family members, one area for staff of LCM and extended family and a third area for the boys of LCM. 


The bridal table (notice the cans of soft drink as opposed to alcohol)


The bridal couple with their marriage feast


Another huge cake - this one reads '1st Golden Wedding to Ps Jorgen Umbi and Darlyn Sumani. May u have a happy and a prosperous future. Wishes and best of luck from Suambus' (Suambu is the name of the plantation so I assume the staff organised it). 


Cutting the cake


Cake smash! Cop that :)


Some of the food I had - it was absolutely delicious!! The chicken was cooked underground in a mumu. Hot coals are lit and left to go out, the chicken is wrapped and put on top and then it's buried - for hours and hours. It was the best chicken I've ever had in PNG - so tender. It also had a smoky taste, which was just the best!


Father of the bride speech - thanking God for the blessing of marriage and sharing advice for developing a strong marriage. It was a beautiful speech.


All of the boys of LCM came past to congratulate the bridal couple. I think this was the longest congratulation line I've ever seen! Well over 250 people. Family and friends joined in at the end :)


Darlyn's parents with Bob and Ann - the General Managers of LCM. Giving gifts of coconut and chickens


The end of the aisle, just before the stage. If you look closely, you can see little pink flowers that say I Love U

It was such a fun afternoon. God bless you, Jorgen and Darlyn!

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