My day started with me arriving at the church at 630am to assist in my first wedding. Now to those of us living in the West, a 630am wedding seems crazy. We are used to more of an afternoon affair. But this is typical in Malawi, because it is dangerous to travel at night and so the receptions must be completed by 6pm, so the earlier the ceremony, the sooner the party can begin!

Now in case you missed it, reread the first sentence and notice the word ‘FIRST’! You see, I still had 23 MORE WEDDINGS TO GO! This is where it gets interesting…. let me introduce you to the concept of a mass wedding. Once a year the church holds one day for this volume of weddings. Why you ask?? Finances. Who knew it, but weddings cost money (ya just being a bit sarcastic..sorry) and as a result many people do not getting married b/c they simply cannot afford it. This is where the church steps in by providing one day for people to have a church ceremony and not have to worry about a reception and everything else that goes along with it (like a wedding dress or bridesmaids and groomsmen, flowers, decorations). The folks were split into two groups: those with wedding dresses and those without. And let me tell you it was an unbelievable affair! The church was packed and rockin’; with lots of dancing and singing (I think I danced more on this morning then I did at my own wedding – which if you know me isn’t saying a whole lot ).

So I am sure you are wondering about logistics, right??? Well, every bride and groom got to walk, or should I say dance, down the aisle (this took in total about 30 minutes per group). They all did their vows individually and received an individual prayer of blessing. The signing of the register, to make it official in the gov’t eyes, was also done individually and took about 45 minutes per group (needless to say my signature got a bit sloppy by the end). Everything else, the prayers, preaching, singing, Bible reading was done as a group.. and oh ya.. the kiss.. can’t forget the kiss.. that too was done individually.. it seemed to me, and this is perhaps me just reading into it, but there was a bit of a competition going on…. all in all it was a lot of fun. It really reminded me of community. Here were a group of couples, sharing their special day with many others… what a cool concept.

When all was said and done the time was approaching 1130 am. I have to say I was looking forward to heading home. When Rev Muhiwa (the senior minister) leaned over and said ‘ah Joel, we have one more wedding and it will be a house call’. One couple was unable to attend due to ongoing medical issues. So we went to them. They had decorated their home and the surrounding neighbors joined in on the celebration. By the end, 24 weddings in total, lasting 6.5 hrs. What a day….