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Published: March 21st 2006
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Wedding Guatemala StyleWedding Guatemala StyleWedding Guatemala Style

Wedding I went to in Antigua. This is where the ceremony took place
Friday night and St Patricks day. We had dinner, and then made our way to the Irish bar Reillys, to take in the party atmosphere. The bar was packed out, and they were charging to get in! No way, so we made our way in to the main square, and found a really busy bar, packed with locals and a few gringos.

In the bar I met a beautiful local girl! She was from Guatemala City, and was with friends from Antigua. Sher was going to a wedding the next day in Antigua, and she invited me to come with her! We were all supposed to be travelling to Panajachel the next morning for two days, to see the lake and markets. I took me two seconds to make my mind up whether to go with my friends, or go to the wedding ( I by now have seen enough Lakes and Markets! ), so I agreed I would go to the wedding with the girl, who I had known barely an hour!

We met up in the main square at noon the next morning, and drove to the wedding in Antigua. I was expecting maybe a small church,
Cold As IceCold As IceCold As Ice

Free cold beer, in the Water fountain. Just help yourself!
something small and traditional. No! As soon as we arrived I was blown away. The wedding was outdoors, in a beautiful old kind of pantry, a flowered arch gangway as an entrance with different coloured rose pettles scattered across the ground, a stone fountain filled with bottles of beer and with ice, a huge white marquee, and servants walking around everywhere attending to the guests. It was the most spectacular wedding I'd ever seen!! The ceremony lasted for around 1.5 hours, with an opera singer and band playing hymms in between. There must a been a few hundred people here, with me definitly the only English person, maybe the only English speaking person too, apart from my date. Here was probably some of the areas most wealthiest people. I met the bride and groom who thanked me for coming (!!), and met the grooms brother, who apparently is in a famous Guatemalan rock band!!

As I sat eating the dinner in the marquee, with a beautiful girl next to me, a live band playing traditional music, and waiters serving me free drinks of whatever I choose allday, I had a smile on my face, and couldn't quite believe I
The NewlywedsThe NewlywedsThe Newlyweds

The happy couple on stage with the famous rock star brother. Anyone know who he is..??!
was there, it was an incredible experience.

As we went in to the night, the famous rock band came on stage, and they were good. They played Sweet Home Alabamha, and the now estatic crowd seemed to go wild! They even had other famous guests play, who I cannot remember any of the names. We got up on stage at one point whilst the band were playing, and I took some pictures ( my friend kindly let me borrow his spare camera ). At night too, the site was beautiful, there were cast Iron archways, which housed things like the wedding cake, which was huge, drink stands, and everything was lit up with candles and fairy lights, it really was like a scene from a wedding in Hello magazine or something.

We said our goodbyes and left around 9.30pm, as I had to find a hotel that night in Antigua, the one I had been staying in was booked up. An incredible day, I was certainly so lucky to have experienced it.

The next day was Sunday. I woke around midday, to the sound of drums and a marching band! Outside the hotel the streets were packed,
Here comes the BrideHere comes the BrideHere comes the Bride

Not a bad entrance to a wedding
it was Carnival ( again! weird but most places we go to now there is a carnival!! ). The town was much busier today, people on the streets, and stools set up selling food and candy floss. I had lunch and took in the atmosphere.

The procession pretty much went around allday, and at night, there were now thousands of people littered around the streets. It was an amazing sight, again I was lucky to be there, considering all my friends were at some lake!! After the carnival, I found this small quaint Italian restaurant, and had a huge pizza. The restaurant was right near my hotel, and was very cool, Beatles posters everywhere and music memorabillia, and messages written on the walls from fellow travellers.

Then back to the hotel, watched Gangs of New York on tv, read my book ( 8 Men Out, about the Chicago Black Socks of 1919, a great book! ) and went to bed. What a weekend!!!

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26th March 2006

My wedding wont be as big???
alright my son! dont fink my wedding will be that big, do i have to put you and this mystery girl on the guest list???
28th March 2006

Wedding
Yeah sounds great my son you would think that Stew could at least get the odd opera singer ?

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