At the beginning of June we had the great honour to attend our co-worker Cristina’s wedding in Ecuador. Cristina has been with us since May and since then it has been a real pleasure working with her. She is 22 years old, a recent graduate from University, knows what she wants and does not hesitate to work hard to get it. She was also a stunning bride!
It was great to experience a wedding in Ecuador, although it was much like weddings I had been to in the States and Europe. First we all gathered at a church near Ibarra to attend the religious ceremony, after which photos were taken and we proceeded to a close by restaurant for the reception. After a ‘brindis’ reception, a very moving, and another not so moving speech by the two fathers, we continued inside with a lunch, games and dancing.
The night before the wedding one of my other colleagues Maria, Sandra and I helped at the bride’s home with some wedding preparations. We strung about 100 roses on thin thread with beads, to be hung from a wedding tent at the reception. The roses the mother had bought were from Ecuador, of course, and she bought about 300 roses (of striking beauty and quality) for $25!!! I was so stunned. Before she let us know the price she let us guess, of course we were completely off. I knew that the flower industry plays a major role in the Ecuadorian economy, especially for exportation purposes, but I had no idea how cheap they were to buy locally.
Due to the very limited amount of planning time for the wedding, about a month and a half, no professional photographer could be organised, so Sandra volunteered to take all the pictures and, as you can see, she did an amazing job!
Love from Quito!
Chiara
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Glad to hear it! Thanks!