Muang Ngoi Wedding

The highlight of Muang Ngoi was not the trekking, the fishing or the chilling - it was the wedding.

Camilla and Eric were on my bus from Luang Phabang. They had first been to Muang Ngoi 4 years ago and stayed 2 1/2 months. They had visited again 2 years ago and rekindled their love affair with the village. This time they were back for one very special reason: to get married in a place and in a way that was meaningful to them.

The day before the wedding the went into the forest to chop down trees for the cooking fires, bought 12 cases of Beer Lao and 12 bottles of Lao Lao or local rice wine (read: rubbing alcohol) and inspected and purchased the only pig available in town. Having extended the offer to help in any way, I went down river with a young local man to deliver invitations to some of the neighboring villages, doing a little fishing along the way. Before retiring to their separate dwellings, they gave me the most wonderful and exciting task of being the unofficial "official photographer."

Around 1pm I met Eric at the restaurant that had become my hub in Muang Ngoi. He gave me the camera and I raced off to find Camilla in an undisclosed location. Seeing that Muang Ngoi is about as big as Mission Street between 18th and 20th (if that), I found her with great ease. She was in a home being adorned with jewels and debating the virtues of blue eyeshadow with the local women. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a conical shape and wrapped with gold beads. It sounds hideous, but was stunning.

I soon went to meet Eric at the other end of town where the men would gather. They dressed this cool-kid Swedish designer in black slacks, a blue button-down shirt and the first tie Camilla had ever seen him wear. The men drank Lao Lao and prepared a man-bouquet for him with the vegetation and flowers readily available in the yard. Someone brought an snoopy umbrella to shade Eric's head (as is customary...the umbrella, not snoopy) and the procession started down the road to meet the bride.

Outside the house in which they were to be wed were all sorts of revelers and a tent set up for the following party. The tent had been put up that morning and was in actuality a large white parachute left over from America's "secret war" on Laos. (Don't know about this? It's true. We launched a offensive by air coinciding with Vietnam - code name: "The Other Theater").

As Eric approached the women by the door washed his feet, removed his shoes and led him to his bride. They knelt together in front of a beautiful shrine of banana leaves, flowers, rice, Lao Lao and assorted nibbles. Both were overcome with tears brought on by happiness. I snapped away.

A local wise man (for lack of a better word) said a bunch of things that I couldn't understand - I'm sure they were blessings, advice and the usual nuptial hurrah. Next the string came out. He tied their hands together in a very meticulous and purposeful fashion. They cried more. It was beautiful. Then string appeared from everywhere! Locals were pulling fist fulls of string from their pockets and tying "blessings" around the couple's wrists as well as the wrists of others. I took a break from the camera to receive some string blessing bracelets of my own.

They ate and drank little bits from the shrine and then exchanged rings (more of their own addition to the ceremony as I understand it). We emerged from the ceremony, everyone smiles. Tables, food and a stereo with huge speakers that could be heard throughout the village awaited us. The generator stayed on well past 9pm that night.

Note: As i was being the dutiful photographer, I don't have any pictures on my camera at the moment. I promise to post them/a link once the happy couple emerges from Muang Ngoi and sends them...but don't hold your breath.