More photos

OK, I finally posted some photos of the wedding! Enjoy them here: My big fat congolese wedding album

Wedding photos

If you haven't already seen them, here are the pics my friend Amber posted on Facebook from her trip here to Congo and of my wedding: Amber's Congo album.

my shower cake

My amazing sister-in-law Nancy hosted a bridal shower for my friends and family and ordered a cake that looks like my wedding cloth! I was able to attend the party via video Skype, although I didn't get to taste the dessert :o)

Wedding Invitation

OK, folks, this is as close as we're gonna get to taking engagement photos. It was for the purpose of creating our wedding invitation. This is the pic we used for that. To see the others go to my Facebook album.




Here are the other graphics on the invitation. I think it's so cute! The heart is cut out in the middle and the picture of us shows through.

Surprise!!!!!!!

I just got off the phone with my friend Amber and she announced to me that she already has a ticket to come to Congo for my wedding!! Woo-hoo!! What a great surprise! We've been friends since we were 6, went to school together 1st thru 12th grade, our parents still live in the same neighborhood, and we've stayed in touch over all these years. We've traveled to Hawaii together twice, to Australia, and to Disneyland. We were in Girl Scouts, band, and countless classes together. I was a bridesmaid in her wedding a couple years back. There aren't very many people I can be sure I will still be friends with in another 20 years, but Amber and I will be!

My wedding pagne

Many people have been asking about my wedding preparations here and what the differences are between a Congolese and an American wedding. One of my favorite aspects of African weddings is the "wedding pagne" (pronounced pawn-yuh), a cloth chosen for the event which people can buy and have outfits made to wear to the wedding. Oftentimes different cloths are chosen for different sides of the family or for different groups. Heather and I chose this cloth for my work colleagues and other missionaries to wear. Fun!

This is a wedding pagne Heather and I wore a couple months ago.

Congolese handwriting

I never cease to be amazed at the handwriting here in Congo. Penmanship is still very important in school here. When I was a student all that really mattered was that it was legible. I think it might be a French influence here, but it's also the fact that many things are still written out by hand (i.e. official records) rather than being entered into a computer. I'm even more impressed when people write on a chalkboard and it looks like calligraphy! Have you tried writing on a chalkboard lately? Not easy! I don't really have that great of example photos here. Some people's handwriting seriously could be turned into a font it's so precise!